F 


OF       T  II  E 


IMPORTANCE 


O  F 


RELIGIOUS   OPINIONS. 


* 

TRANSLATED   FROM  THE    FRENCH 


M  u     N  E  C  K  E  R, 


33oflan ; 

FROM    THE    PRESS    OF 
THOMAS     HALL: 

Sold  by  THOMAS  and   ANDREWS,  WILLIAM   P.  OTA:'" 
No.  itCornb!l/i  DAVID  WEST,  and  JOHN  Wisr. 

1796. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Introduction,  -  3 

Chap,  I.  On  the  connexion  of  Religious  Prin- 
ciples with  Public  Order,          -          1*7 

II,  The  fame  fubjett  continued.     A  pa- 

ralld  between  the  influence  of  Re~ 
ligious  Principles,  and  of  Laws 
and  Opinions,  -  gej 

III,  An  Objection  drawn  from  our  natur- 

al difpojitions  to  Goodntfs,         -       62 

IV,  An  Objection  drawn  from  the  good 

conduct  of  many  irreligious  Men,       65 
V.   The  Influence  .of  Religious  Princi- 
ples on  our  Happinefs,  -     72 
VI.   The  fame  fubj  eel  continued.     The  in- 
fluence of  Virtue  on  Happinefs,         8& 
VII.  On  Religious  Opinions,  in  their  rela- 
tion with  >Sovereigns}             -        "     9i 
VIII.   An  ObjfElion    drawn  from  the  Wars 
and  from  the    Commotions    which 
Religion  has  given  rife  to,          -       10- 
iKi    Another    objection   examined.      The 

Sabbath,  -  -       iog 

X.  An  Obfcrvation  on  a  particular  cir- 

cumjlance  of  Public  IVorfhip,     •      no 
XI.   That  the  fingle   idea   of  a  God  is  a 

fufficient  fupport  of  Morality ^          nc 
XII.   That  there  is  a  God,  -       146 

XIII,  The  fame  fubjtft  continued,  -     154 

XIV.  The  fame  Jubjeff  continued,         -       163 
XV,  On  the  re/pelt  that  is  due  from  true 

Philofophy  to  Religion,      -         -      104 
XVI.   The  fame f*bjett  continued.     Reflex- 
ions on  Intolerance,         -         -         202 
XVII.   Reflexions   on   the   morality   of  the 

Chrijlian  Rcligiont  210 

XVIII,  C9nclufionf  •»      244 


INTRODUCTION. 


MY  thoughts  having  been  detached  from  the  ftudy 
and  difquifnion  of  thofe  truths  which  have  the 
political  good  of  thz  ftate  for  their  objeft  ;  and  being 
no. longer  obliged  to  fix  any  attention  on  tbofe  par- 
ticular arrangements  of  the  public  intereft,  which  are 
neceflarily  connefted  with  the  operations  of  govern- 
ment ;  I  found  myfelf  abandoned,  as  it  were,  by  ail 
the  important  concerns  of  life.  Reliefs  and  wandcr- 
irig,  in  this  kind  of  void,  my  foul,  iliil  active,  felt  the 
want  of  employment.  I  fometimes  formed  the  defign 
of  tracing  my  ideas  of  men  and  characters  ;  I  imagin- 
ed that  long  experience  in  the  rrudil  of  thofe  aftive 
fc'enes  which  difcover  the  paffijns,  hai  taught  me  to 
know  them  well  ;  but  elevating  my  views,  my  heart 
xvas  filled  with  a  different  ambition,  and  with  a  defire 
td  reconcile  the  fubli-neft  thoughts  with  thofe  medita- 
tions from  whicii  I  was  corirtramed  to  withdraw  my- 
feflf.  Guided  by  this  {emi<n;nf,  I  remarked,  with 
fatisfaction,  that  mere  exdled  a  natural  connexion  be* 
tween  the  different  truths  v/hicn  contribuLe  to  theliap- 
pjnefs  of  maakind.  Oar  prejudices  and  our  padions 
A  i,  frequently 


6  Introduction. 

frequently  attempt  to  difunite  them  ;  but  to  the  eye 
of  an  attentive  obferver,  they  have  all  one  common 
origin.  From  a  fimilar  affinity,  the  general  views  of 
adminiftration,  the  fpirit  of  laws,  morality,  and  relig- 
ious opinions,  are  clofely  connected  ;  and  it  is  by 
carefully  preferving  an  alliance  fo  beautiful,  that  we 
raife  a  rampart  round  thofe  works,  which  are  dellined 
for  the  profperity  of  ftates  and  the  tranquility  of  na« 
lions. 

One  could  not  have  taken  an  active  part  in  the  ad° 
jminiftration  of  public  affairs — or  made  it  the  objeft  of 
ileadfali  attention  j  one  could  TOJC  have  compared  the 
feveral  relations  of  this  great  whole,  with  the  natural 
difpofitions  of  minds  and  characters  ;  nor  indeed  ob- 
ferved  men  in  a  perpetual  Hate  of  rivalry  and  compe- 
tition, without  perceiving  how  much  the  wifeft  gov- 
ernments need  lupport  from  the  influence  of  that  in- 
vii'ible  fpring  which  afts  in  fecret  on  the  confciences 
of  individuals.  Thus  whilft  I  am  endeavouring  to 
form  fame  reflexions  on  the  importance  of  religious 
opini  > ;  ,  I  am  not  fo  far  removed  from  my  former 
habit  oF  thinking,  as  may,  at  the  firtt  glance,  be  ima- 
gined ;  and  as,  in  writing  on  the  management  of  fi- 
nance, 1  omitted  no  argument  to  prove  that  there  is 
an  intimate  connexion  between  the  efficacy  of  gov- 
ernments, and  the  wifdcm  with  which  they  are  con-, 
dufted  ;  between  the  virtue  of  princes,  and  the  confi- 
dence of  their  fubjefts  ;  1  think  I  am  Itill  proceeding 
in  the  fame  tri'.u  of  fenti:nent  aod  reflexion,  wKcn, 
ilruck  with  that  fpirit  of  indifference  which  is  fo  ge- 
neral, I  endeavour  to  refer  the  duties  of  men  to  thofe 
principles  which  afford  them  the  moil  caturdl  fup^ 
port. 

After  having  ftudied  the  interefls  of  a.  great  nation  9 
end  run  over  ihs  circle  of  our  political  focieties,  we 

approach 


approach  nearer,  perhaps,  to  thofe  fublimeiclea*  which 
bind  the  general  ftru&ure  of  mankind  to  that  infinite 
and  Almighty  Being,  who  is  the  firft  grand  caufe  of 
all,  and  unwerfaj  mover  of  the  uuiverfe.  In  tbe 
rapid  courfe  of  an.  active  admtmiiration,  indeed,  one  " 
cannot  indulge  fimilar  reflexions  ;  but  they  are  form- 
ing and  preparing  them(eives  in  the  mtdtt  of  the  tu- 
mult of  bufinels  ;  and  the  tranquiliry  of  ceurcaieoA 
enables  us  to  Itrenjthen  and  extend  them,, 

The  calm  which  fuccceds  hurry  and  confufioa, 
feems  the  feafon  moft.  favourable  to  meditanon  ;  and 
if  any  remembrance,  or  retroipettive  views  of  what 
is  pad  (hould  inJpue  you  with  a  kind  of  melancholy, 
you  will  be  involuntarily  led  back  to  contemplationi 
which  border  on  thole  ideas  with  which  you  hav« 
been  long  converfant.  It  is  thus  the  mariner,  afteff 
having  renounced  the  dangers  of  <he  fea5  fometimef 
feats  himialf  on  the  beach,  and  there,  a  more  tranquil 
obfer-ver,  confiders  aifentive  y  the  boundlefs  ocean, 
the  regular  fucccfiion  of  the  waves,  the  irnpreffion  of 
the  winds,  the  flux  and  reflux  of  the  tide,  and  that 
magnificent  firmament,  where,  during  the  night,  among 
lights  innumerable,  he  diHioguilhes  the  lucid  poiiitj, 
which  ferves  as  a  guid«  to  the  navigators. 

If  is  in  vain,  in  thofe  high  fiations  under  govern- 
j&ent,  to  intereft  yourfeif  about  ths  happtnefs  of  man- 
knul  in  general  ;  it  is  in  vain,  that,  penetrated  wit.v  % 
jult  refpeft  for  the  important  duties  of  office,  a  public 
character  (hill  dare  to  take  in  hand  the  cauie  of  the 
people,  and  inceffanily  apply  hirnteif  to  the  defence 
of  the  weak,  in  oppofaion  to  the  attacks  of  ihe  pow- 
erful. He  foon  perceives  bow  bounded  are  his  abili- 
ties, and  how  limited  are  thofe,  even  of  fovereignty 
itfelf.  Pity  for  (he  diilreiFcs  of  the  individual  is  check- 
ed by  the  lav  of  civil  rights  ;  benevolence,  by  juiiice  ; 
afld  liberty,  by  its  own  abufes :  you  perpetually  be- 


jhold  merit  flriiggling  with  patropagc— honour  <tvhls- 
fortune — and  patriotifm  with  the  mterefl  of  the  indi- 
vidual. There  is  no  fuch  thing  as  real  difinterefted- 
nefs  in  the  paflions,  only  by  fits  and  flans.  Unlefs; 
great  cireumftancesj  or  vigorous  virtue  in  an  adminiftra- 
tion,  forcibly  renewed  the  idea  of  public  good,  a  general 
Jangour  would  take  place  in  every  mind  ;  and  fociety 
itfelf  would  appear  one  confufed  mafs  of  C'ppofire  in- 
terefts,  which  the  fupreme  authority  keeps  witmr* 
bounds  for  the  maintenance  of  peace,  without  any 
inquietude  about  real  harmony,  or  any  revolution  fa,* 
vourable  to  the  manners  or  happinefs  of  the  public. 

From  the  midft  of  thefe  ciafliings  and  contradic- 
tions, continually  recurring,  a  mimlier,  poflefled  of 
a  reflecting  mind,  is  inceffantiy  called  back  to  the  idea 
of  imperfection.  He  will,  undoubtedly,  bt  forry, 
\vhen  he  fees  the  great  difproportion  which  exifts  be- 
tween his  duty  and  his  powers:  and  he  will  fome« 
times  grieve  and  be  difcouraged,  at  perceiving  the  ob- 
flacles  he  muftfurmount,  and  the  difficulties  he  muft 
overcome.  He  raifes,  with  labour  and  care,  banks 
on  the  ftrand  ;  the  waters  fwell;  their  courfe  becomes 
snore  rapid  ;  and  the  hrft  precautions  rendered  infuf- 
ficient,  oblige  him  to  have  recourfe  to  new  works}- 
which,  thrown  down  in  their  turn,  hurry  on  a  contin- 
ued fucceffion  of  fruitlefs  toil  and  ufelefs  attempts. 
What,  then,  'would  be  the  coniequence,  if  once  the- 
ialutary  chain  of  religious  fen  time  ins  were  broken? 
What  would  be  the  event,  if  the  a£tion  of  thai  pow- 
erful ipnng  were  ever  entirely  deftroyed  ?  You  wou!dj 
foon  iee  every  part  of  the  iocial  Ihufture  tremble  from 
its  foundation — and  the  hand  of  government  unable* 
to  lufiain  the  vaft  and  tottering  edifice. 

The  fovereign,  and  the  laws,  which  are  the   inter- 
preters of  his  wiidom,  fhould  have  two  grand  objects, 
the  maintenance  of  public  rrcler.    and    the  increaie  of 
private    happsnefs.     But  to  acromphfli    boih,  the  aid 
©f  rebgjon  is  abfolutely  neceffary.     J'he    fovereign 


Introduction.  9 

c-annot  influence  the  happinefs  of  individuals,  but  by 
a  general  folicitude  ;  becaufe  the  fentiments,  which 
fpring  from  the  different  characters  of  men,  or  mere- 
ly from  the  circumftances  of  their  refpe&ive  lituations, 
are  independent  of  him.-  Neither  can  he  infure  the 
prefervation  of  public  order,  but  by  rules  and  inftitu- 
iions,  which  are  only  applicable  to  aftions,  and  thofe 
a$ions  positively  proved.  It  is  necefiary,  alfo,  that 
ihe  laws  fhould  extend  their  influence  to  fociety  in 
an  uniform  manner.  They  (hould  always  have  a  ten- 
tlency  tc>  diminifh  the  number  of  diminutions,  fhades, 
-tud  modifications,  that  are  to  be  found  in  the  actions 
of  men  }  in  fhort,  to  prevent  thofe  abufes,  infeparahly 
attendant  on  arbitrary  decifions. 

Such  are  the  bounds  of  fovereign  authority,  and 
fuch  the  developement  of  its  means  and  powers.  Re- 
ligion, to  attain  the  fame  ends,  employs  other  motives 
enentially  different  :  firft,  it  is  not  in  a  vague  and 
general  manner,  that  me  influences  the  happinefs  of 
mankind  ;  it  is  by  addreffing  ail  men  individually—- 
by penetrating  the  heart  oi  every  human  being,  and 
pouring  into  it  confolation  and  hope — by  presenting 
to  the  imagination  every  thing  that  can  in  fen  fib  ly  lead 
it  captive — by  taking  pofTeflion  of  men's  feniiraents— - 
by  occupying  their  thoughts— and  by  availing  her« 
feif  of  this  dominion  over  them,  to  fuflain  their  cour- 
age, and  to  afford  them  comfort  under  their  affliftions 
and  difappointments.  Jn  this  manner,  religion  con- 
curs to  maintain  good  order,  by  means  abfolutely  dif- 
tinft  from  thofa  of  government  :  for  (he  not  only  gov- 
erns our  aftions,  but  even  our  fentiments  :  it  is  with 
the  errors  and  inclinations  of  each  man  in  particular, 
that  me  feeks  to  combat.  Religion,  in  demonftrating 
the  prefence  of  the  Deity,  on  all  occafions,  however 
fecret,  exercifes  an  habitual  authority  over  the  eon- 
fciences  of  men.  She  feems  to  affift  them  under  the 
j£ejrturbaticns  offeajr^  and  yet  attends  tnera  in  their 

flight* 


Jto  Introduction. 

flight.  She  equally  notices  their  intentions,  projects, 
and  repentance  ;  and  in  the  method  which  (he  takes, 
feems  as  undulating  and  flexible  in  all  her  motions, 
as  the  empire  of  the  law  appears  immoveable  and  con- 
drained. 

I  fhould  not,  at  prefent,  extend  thefe  reflexions  any 
further:  but  if 'religion,  in  fome  meafure^  complete 
the  imperfect  work  of  legiflation — if  it  ought  to  fupply 
the  infufficiency  of  thofe  means,  which  government  is 
under  the  neceflity  of  adopting — the  fubjeft  I  propofe 
to  treat  of,  feems  not  foreign  to  tbofe  objects  of  medi- 
tation, which  the  fludy  of  adminittration  ought  to 
comprehend. 

I  well  know,  that  it  is  impoffible  to  explain  the  im* 
portance  of  religion,  without  at  the  fame  time,  fixing 
the  attention  to  the  grand  truths  on  which  it  depends  : 
and  you  mud  alfo  frequently  touch  on  many  fubjefts, 
that  are  clofely  connected  with  the  deepeft  metaphy- 
iics.  We  are,  at  leaft,  obliged  to  feek  for  a  defence 
againft  thofe  arguments,  which  fap  the  foundation  of 
the  moft  necefiary  opinions — by  which  the  moft  im- 
pafTioned  feiuiments  have  been  difcouraged — by  which 
fome  would  reduce  man  to  a  vegetable,  make  the  uni- 
verfe  the  refult  of  chance,  and  morality  a  flate  trick. 

As  foon  as  I  difcovered  how  far  my  iubjecl:  wat 
likely  to  lead  me,  I  felt  myfelf  intimidated  :  but  I 
could  not  aliow  this  to  be  a  fufficient  reafon  for  re- 
linquifhing  my  undertaking  :  and  fince  the  greater 
part  of  the  philofophers  of  the  prefent  age  are  united 
in  oppofition  to  thofe  opinions,  which  the  light  of 
nature  feems  to  have  rendered  facred,  it  is  become  in- 
difpenfably  neceffary,  to  admit  to  the  combat  all  that 
offer  ;  nay,  even  to  feleft  a  champion  from  the  main 
body  of  the  army,  when  all  ihe  ilrong  ones  are  already 
gong  ,«ver  (9  the  camp  of  -th«  eoemy, 

There 


InindttBiori*  -** 

There  is  nothing  which  feems  to  engrofs  the  atten- 
tion of  mankind  more  than  metaphysical  inquiries  ; 
for  it  is  by  thinking  alone  they  can  be  fathomed.— 
The  light  gained  by  acquired  knowledge  is,  in  forae 
roeafure,  loft  in  thofe  obfcure  depths,  which  it  is  nc- 
ceflary  to  found,  and  that  immenfe  fpace  which  it  is 
neceflary  to  traverfe.  Thus,  it  were  better,  perhaps, 
that  each  fliould  enter  by  chance  into  thefe  labyrinths, 
where  the  paths,  already  traced,  lead  to  no  one  de- 
termined point,  I  have  befides,  often  obferved,  that, 
even  for  thofe  refearches,  where  the  heljjs  of  fcience 
are  moft  ufeful,  \ve  ought  to  fet  a  certain  value  on 
the  particular  excurfion  of  each  genius,  which  feeks 
out  for  itfelf  a  way,  and  which,  indebted  to  nature 
alone  for  its  peculiar  formation,  preferves  in  its  prog- 
refs  a  character  of  its  own.  It  is  then,  and  then  only, 
that  we  are  not  invefted  with  the  diftinguifhing  marks 
of  flavifhnefs  of  thinking  ;  but  when,  by  devoting  our- 
felves  to  reflexion,  we  coincide  with  the  opinions  of 
others,  this  conformity  has  nothing  of  fervility  in  it, 
and  the  marks  of  imitation  are  not  even  recognized. 

In  vain  would  man  refill  the  impreflion  of  truth  5 
in  vain  would  he  defend  himfelfby  a  ridiculous  in- 
difference for  ancient  opinions  ;  there  never  could  be 
an  idea  more  worthy  to  occupy  our  meditations,  there 
never  could  be  an  idea,  on  which  we  might  be  more 
fully  permitted  10  expatiate,  according  to  our  knowl- 
edge and  penetration,  than  that  fubiime  one,  of  a  Su- 
preme Being,  and  the  relation  we  bear  to  him  :  aa 
idea,  which,  though  far  removed  from  us  byjts  im» 
noenfity,  every  moment  ttrikes  the  foul  with  admira- 
lion,  and  infpircs  the  heart  with  hope. 

It  appears  to  me,  that  there  are  interefls  which  may 
be  confidered  as -patriotic  by  intelligent   and  feeling 
beings ;  and  while  the  inhabitants  of  the   fame  coun- 
try, 


'12  Introduttion* 

try,  and  the  fubjefts  of  the  fame  prince, 
themfelves  diligently  in  one  common  plan  of  defence  ; 
the  citizens  of  the  world  ought  to  be  inceflantly  anx- 
ious to  give  every  new  and  poflible  fupport  to  thofe 
exalted  opinions,  on  which  the  true  greatnels  of  their 
exiftence  is  founded,  which  preferve  the  imagination 
from  that  frightful  fpeclacle  of  an  exiftence  without 
origin,  of  aftion  without  liberty,  and  futurity  wiihout 
hope,  'J  hus,  after  having,  as  1  think,  proved  myfelf 
a  citizen  of  France,  by  my  adminiftration,  as  well  as 
my  writings,  1  wifh  to  unite  myfelf  to  a  fraternity  ftill 
more  extended — that  of  the  whole  human  race  :  it  is 
thus,  without  difperfing  our  fentiments,  we  may  be 
able,  neferthelefs,  to  communicate  ourfelves  a  great 
way  off,  and  enlarge  in  fome  mealure  the  limits  cf  cur 
circle  :  glory  be  to  cur  thinking  faculties  for  it  !  to 
that  fpiritual  portion  of  ourfelves,  which  can  take  hi 
the  paft,  dart  into  futurity,  and  intimately  affociafe 
itfelf  with  the  deftiny  of  men  of  all  countries,  and  of 
all  ages.  'Without  doubt,  a  veil  is  thrown  over  the 
greater  part  of  thofe  truths,  to  which  our  curiofitr 
would  willingly  attain  :  but  thofe,  which  a  beneficent 
God  has  permitted  us  to  fee,  are  amply  fufficient  for 
our  guide  and  inftruftion  :  and  we  cannot,  for  a  con- 
tinuance, divert  otfr  at  tenti  on,  without  a  fpecies  of  floth- 
ful  negligence,  and  a  total  indifference  to  the  fuperior 
anterefts  of  man.  How  little  is  every  thing,  indeed, 
when  put  in  competition  with  thofe  meditations, 
which  give  to  our  exiftence  a  new  extent,  and  which, 
in  detaching  us  from  the  daft  of  the  earth,  feem  to 
unite  our  ibuls  to  an  infinity  of  fpace,  and  our  dura- 
tion of  a  day  to  the  eternity  of  time  !  Above  all,  it 
is  for  you  to  determime,  who  have  fenfibility— who 
feel  the  want  of  a' Supreme  Bein^,  and  who  feek 
to  find  in  him  that  fupport  fo  neceflary  to  your  weak- 
nefs,  that  defender  and  that  aflurance,  without  whichj 
painful  inquietude  will  be  perpetually  tormenting  you, 
and  troubling  thofe  foft,  tender  affections  which  con- 
-ftifute  your  happinefs. 

I  low  ever  > 


Introduction.  13 

'However,  I  mud  fay,  there  never,  perhaps,  was  a 
'period,  when  it  was  more  efleniially  neceflary  torecal 
to  the  minds  of  men,  the  importance  of  religious  fent- 
iments :  at  prefent.  they  are  but  prejudices,  if  we  may 
credit  the  fpirit  of  licentioufnefs  and  levity — the  laws 
diclated  by  fafhion  ;  and  more  particularly  eflemial, 
i'ince  we  have  had  philofophical  inductions,  which 
excite  the  various  deviations  of  vanity,  and  rally  the 
wanderings  of  the  imagination. 

There  is  not  any  form  of  religion,  undoubtedly,  to 
which  ideas  snore  or  lefs  myftical  have  not  been  annex- 
ed ;  and  of  which  tiie  evidence  has  not  been  in  pro- 
portion to  the  dictatorial  language,  and  authoritative 
fone,  which  has  been  made  ufe  of  in  teaching  and  de- 
fending it ;  as  fuch,  one  might,  at  any  given  period. 
have  been  tempted  to  difpute  about  particular  parts  of 
worfiiip,  which  different  nations  have  adopted  ;  but  it 
is  principally  in  the  prefent  age,  that  a  certain  clafs  of 
men  have  fprung  up,  diftirguifned  for  their  wit  and 
talents;  and  who,  intoxicated  by  the  facility  with 
which  they  have  gained  a  victory,  have  extended  ti 
ambition,  and  had  the  daring  courage  to  attack  the  re- 
ferved  bony  of  that  army,  of  which  the  front  ranks 
had  already  given  way. 

This  Hruggle  between  perfons.  cae  of  whom  would 
imperioufly  rule  by  faith  alone,  whilft  the  other  thinks 
"he  has  a  right  to  rsjcct  with  difdain  every  thing  that 
has  not  been  demonllrated.  will  always  be  a  fruitlefs 
combat  ;  and  only  iefve  to  nourifh  blind  averfion  and 
unjuft  contempt.  Some  feck  roAvonnd  their  ad\  erfa- 
ries,  others  to  humble  them  :  in  the  mean  time,  the 
good  of  mankind,  and  the  true  benefit  of  fociety,  are 
abfolutely  loli -fight  of:  yes,  the  reel  love  of  ufefui 
rnnhs,  the  impartial  fearch  after  them,  and  th.c  de-fire 
of  pointing  them  out.  thefo  fetitifnertts,  fo  amiable  and 
fo  truly  laudable,  fee:n  to  be  entirely  unknown.  1  fee, 
permit  me  to  lay  it,  I  fee  at -the  two-extremities  of  the 
area,  the  favage  inqujfitor,  and  the  iriconfi derate  phi- 
•hfonher.  liut  neiiher  the  isgots  lighted  by  ihe  one, 
nor  the  derifions  of  ihe  other,  -will  cver'rfiffufe  any 
^'ry  inllrudion:  and  in  the  eves  of  a  rational  man 

' 


1 4  Introduction* 

the  intolerance  of  monks  adds  no  more  to  the  domin- 
ion of  true  rei;gious  femiments,  than  the  jefts  of  a  few 
licentious  wits  have  effefted  a  triumph  in  favour  of 
philofophy. 

It  is  between  thefe  oppofite  opinions,  and  in  -the 
midflof  wanderings  equally  dangerous,  that  we  muft 
attempt  to  mark  out  our  way:  but  as  all  the  opinions 
of  men  are  fubjecl  to  change — at  prefent,  when  their 
minds  are  more  averfe  to  the  maxims  of  intolerance,  it 
is  religion  itfelf  that  principally  needs  fupport  :  and 
fuch  is  the  daily  diminution  of  it,  that  means,  fupply- 
ing  the  deficiency,  Teem  to  be  already  publicly  prepar- 
ing. For  fome  time  paft  we  have  heard  of  nothing 
but  the  neceflity  of  compofing  a  moral  catechifm,  in 
which  religious  principles  ihould  not  be  introduced,  as 
refources  which  are  now  out  of  date,  and  which  it  is 
time  to  difcard.  Without  doubt,  thefe  principles 
might  be  more  effectually  attacked,  could  they  ever  be 
reprefented  as  totally  ufelefs  for  the  maintenance  of 
public  order;  and  if  the  coldleffons  of  a  political  phi- 
lofophy could  be  fubftitnted  for  thofe  fubiime  ideas, 
xvhich,  by  the  fpiritual  tie  of  religion,  bind  the  heart 
and  mind  to  the  pureft  morality.  Let  us  now  exam- 
ine, if  we  mould  gain  any  thing  by  the  exchange  ;  let 
us  fee,  if  the  means  they  propofe  to  employ,  can  be  put 
in  competition  with  thole  which  ought  to  be  made  ufe 
of;  and  if  they  be  more  iolid,  and  more  efficacious: 
let  us  fee,  if  this  new  dcftrine,  wh.ch  is  recommended, 
tvili  produce,  in  the  foul,  the  lame  degree  of  confo- 
lation  ;  if  it  be  calculated  for  thofe  hearts  which  arc 
pofieflcd  of  fenfibility  ;  and  above  all,  let  us  attentively 
corilidef,  if  it  can  be  fuitabie  to  the  meafure  of  intelli- 
gence, and  the  focial  fmiation  of  the  greater  part  of 
mank?nd.  In  mort,  in  confidering  the  various  quef. 
lions  which  in  any  manner  relate  to  the  important 
fubjecl:  we  have  undertaken  to  treat,  let  us  not  be  afraid 
to  reiifl,as  well  as  we  can,  the  fooiifti  ambition  of  thofe, 
who,  availing  themfelves  of  the  iupenority  of  tneir 
undedtanding,  wHh  to  deprive  man  of  his  dignily,  to 
place  him  on  a  level  with  the  dull  under  his  fees,  and 
'•  maj\e  his  forefight  apunifbrneni  5 — melancholy  and  de- 
plorable 


EitroduBion.  1 5 

plorablc  deHiny  !  from  which,  however,  we -are  per- 
mitted to  feek  ant!  defend  ourfelves.  Cruel  and  difai- 
trous  opinion  !  which  tears  up  by  the  roots  every  tiling 
which  fnrrounds  it,  \vhich  relaxes  the  moft  neceflary 
bands,  and,  in  an  inflantj  dcdroys  ihe  moil  delightful 
charm  of  life, 

O  thou  God  unknown  !  — but  whofe  beneficent  idea 
has  ever  filled  my  foul,  if  thou  ever  throw  a  look  on 
thofe  efforts  which  man  makes  to  approach  thee,  fuf-» 
tain  my  resolution,  enlighten  nw  unaei  railc 

my  thouglus,  and  rcjecl  nor  :he  d-^firc  I  Have  to  ur,ii« 
iiiil  more,  if  poffible,  the  order  z\:<\  happincfs  of  foci- 
ety,  with  the  intimate  and'  petieci.  conception  of  thy 
divinity,  and  the  lively  idea  of  chy 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

IN  rendering  this  work  into 
Englifh,  fome  liberties  have  been 
taken  by  the  tranjlator,  which 
feemed  neceffary  to  preferve  the 
fpirit  of  the  original. 


OF   THE 

IMPORTANCE 

OF 

RELIGIOUS   OPINIONS. 

CHAPTER     I. 

Oh  the  Connexion  of  Religious  Principles  with 
Public  Order. 


TTTEknow  not  diftinftly  the  origin  of  mod  po- 
V  V  litical  focieties:  but  as  foon  as  hiftory  exhibits 
ancn  united  in  a  national  body,  we  perceive,  at  the 
fame  time,  the  eftablifhment  of  public  worfhip,  and  the 
application  of  religious  fentiments,-.  to  the  maintenance 
of  good  orc?er  and  fubordination.  Religious  fenti- 
ments,  by  the  fanftton  of  an  oath,  bind  the  people  to 
the  magiftr3tes,  and  the  magiftrates  to  their  engage- 
ments. They  infpire  a  reverential  refpeft  for  the  ob- 
ligations contracted  between  fovereigns  ;  and  thcf« 
fentiments,  (till  more  authoritative  than  difcipline,  at- 
tach the  foldier  to  his  commander.  In  ihort,  religious- 
opinions,  by  their  influence  en  the  manners  of  indi- 
viduals, have  produced  an  infinite  number  of  illuitrioua 
inftanccs  of  heroical  difintercftedncfs,  of 
B  a 


18         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

Avhich  hiftory  has  tranfmitted  us  the  remembrance.—.. 
But  as  we  have  feen  aphilofophy  fpring  up  among  na- 
tions the  molt  enlightened,  anxioufly  employed  in  de- 
priving religion  of  all  that  merited  refpecl,  diflertations 
on  times  far  removed  from  us,  and  the  various  fyftems 
that  they  would  endeavour  violently  to  afiociate  with? 
religion  would  become  an  endlefs  fource  of  controver- 
fy*  It  is,  then,  by  reafoning  alone,  by  that  exercife 
of  the  mind,  which  belongs  equally  to  all  countries 
and  all  ages,  that  we  can  iupport  the  caufe  which  we 
have  taken  in  hand  to  defend.  There  is,  perhaps^ 
fom<»thing  weak  and  -{ervil«  in  our-  wifhing  to  draw 
afliftance  from  ancient  opinions.  Reafon  ought  not, 
like  vanity,  to  adorn  herietf  with  old  parchments,  and 
the  difplay  of  a  genealogical  tree.  More  dignified  in 
her  prcieediag,  and  pruud  of  her  immorta1  nature,  (he 
ought  to  derive  ever/  ihing  from  herfelf;  ihe  fhould 
disregard  palt  times,  and  be,  if  I  may  ufe  the  phrafe, 
ihe  cotemporary  of  all  ages, 

It  was  referved,  particularly  few  fome  writers  of  our 
age,  to  attack  even  the  mi'ity  of  religion  ;  and  to  feek 
10  f'ibftitute,  inftead  of  its  active  influence,  the  inani- 
mate inftruQjon  of  a  political  philofophy^  Religi(iR, 
fay  they,  is  a  fcaffold  fallen  into»nmis,  and'it  is  h*'gh 
ti-ne  to  give  to  morality  a  more  foiicl  fupport.  But 
what  (upport  will  that  be  ?  We  mull, -in  order  to  dif- 
cover,  and  foroj  a  juft  idea  of  it,  dillinftly  confider  the 
different  motives  of  aclion  on  which  depend  the  rela- 
tions that  fubfiil  between  men  ;  and  it  will  be  neceHa- 
ry  to  eitiraate,  afterwards,  the  kind  and  degree  of  af* 
iiltance  which  we  may  reafonably  expect  from  fucii  a 
fupport. 

it  appears  to  me,  that  in  renouncing  the  efficacious 
aid  of  reliorion,  we  may  eafily  form  ai\  idea  of  the 
means  that  they  will  endeavour  to  make  ufe  of,  to  at- 
tach men  to  the  obfervancc  of  the  rules  of  rnuraluy, 
and  to  reilrain  the  dangerous  exec  lies  of  their  padions. 
They  v/ould,  usidoubtediy,  place  a  proper  value  on  the 
connexion  which  fubiiih  between  private  and  general 
intereft  :  they  would  avail  themfelves  of  the  authority 
of  laws,  and  the  fear  of  punilhrnent  :  and  they  would 
confide  iiiU  more  m  ihe  aicendency  of  public  cpinio.i, 

and . 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  ^ 

and  the  ambition  that  every  one  ought  to  have,  of 
gaining  the  eiteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellow-crea.- 
tures. 

Let  us  examine  feparateiy  thefe  different  motives  ? 
and  firtt,  attentively  confidering  the  union  of  private 
with  public  interelt,  let  us  fee  if  this  union  be  real, 
and  if  we  can  deduce  from"  fuch  a  principle  any  moral 
infiru&ion  truly  efficacious. 

Society  is  far  from  being  a  perfect  work.  We 
ought  not  to  confider  as  an  harmonious  compofition, 
the  different  relations  of  which  we  are  witneffps,  and 
particularly  the  habitual  contrail  of  power  and.  weak- 
nefs,  of  flavery  and  authority,  riches  and  poverty,  of 
luxury  and  mifery.  So  much  inequality,  fuch  a  mot- 
ly  piece  could  not  form  an  edifice  icfpedtable  for  the 
juilruls  of  its  proportions. 

Civil  and  political  order  is  not,  then,  excel'ent  by 
its  nature,  and  we  cannot  perceive  its  agreement,  til! 
we  have  deeply  Mudied,  and  formed  to  ourleives  ihofe 
reflections  which  legislators  had  fo  make,  and  the  d;f- 
ijculnes  that  they  had  to  furmount.  It  is  then  only, 
with  the  aiTHlance  of  the  moil  attentive  meditation, 
ihat  we  dilcover  how  thole  particular  relations,  which 
are  eflablilhed  by  focial  laws,  form  neverthelefs,  that 
lyilem  of  equilibrium,  which  is  moil  proper  to  b>nd 
together  an  immenfe  diverfuy  of  interefis  :  but  a  great 
obiiacle  to  the  influence  of  political  morality  is,  the 
necedity  of  giving,  for  the-baiis  or"  the  love  of  order, 
an  abitract  and  complicated  idea.  What  effect  on  vul- 
gar minds  would  the  fcientihc  harmony  of  the  whole 
have,  oppofed  daily  to  the  fentunent  of  injuftice  and 
inequality,  which  arifes  from  the  afpecl  of  every  par-t 
of  the  ioci^al  conlhtution,  when  we  acquire  the  knowl- 
edge of  it,  in  a  iiianner  folitary  and  circumfcribt'd  ; 
and  how  limited  is  the  number  of  thofe,  who  can  con- 
tinually draw  together  ail  the  Scattered  links  of  this  vali 
chain  ! 

It  could  not  b^  avoided,  in  the  bed  regulated  focie- 
fies,  ihat  fome  fhould  enjoy,  without  labour  or  dif- 
ficulty, all  the  conveniences  of  hfe  ;  and  that  others, 
3sud  far  the  greater  number,  fhould  be  obliged  to  earn, 


20         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

by  the  fwcat  of  their  brow,  a  fubfiftence  the  raoR 
fcanty,  and  a  recompenfe  the  moft  confined.  It  is 
not  to  be  prevented,  that  fome  will  find,  when  oppref- 
fed  by  ficknefs,  all  the  afliftance  which  officious  ten- 
dernefs  and  fkill  can  afford  ;  while  others  are  reduced 
to  partake,  in  public  hofpitals,  the  bare  relief  that  hu- 
manity has  provided  for  the  indigent.  We  cannot 
prevent  fomc.from  being  in  a  fuuation  to  lavifh  on 
their  families  all  the  advantages  of  a  complete  educa- 
tion ;  whilft  others,  impatient  to  free  themfelves  from 
a  charge  fo  heavy,  are  conflrained  to  watch  eagerly 
for  the  firft  appearance  of  natural  ftrength,  to  make 
their  children  apply  to  fome  profitable  labour.  In 
fliort,  we  cannot  avoid  perpetually  contrafting  the 
fplendor  of  magnificence  with  the  tatters  which  mife- 
ry  difplays.  Such  are  the  effefts,  infeparablefrom  the 
Jaws  refpe&ing  property.  Thefe  are  truths,  the  prin- 
ciples of  which  I  have  had  occafion  to  difcufs  in  the 
work  which  I  competed  on  adminiftration  and  politi- 
cal economy  :  but  1  ought  to  repeat  them  here,  fince 
th^y  are  found  clofely  conne&ed-  with  other  general 
views.  The  eminent  power  of  property  is  one  of  the 
focial  inflitutions,  the  influence  of  which  has  the  great- 
eft  extent.  This  confrderation  was  applicable  to  the- 
commerce  of  grain.  It  ought  to  be  prefent  to  the 
mind,  in  difquificions  on  the  duties  of  adminiftration  ; 
and  it  is  ftill  more  important,  when  the  queftion  is  to  be 
txamined,  what  kind  of  moral  iuftru&ion  may  be  pro- 
per for  mankind  ? 

IB  effeft,  if  it  appertain  to  the  eflence  of  the  laws 
of  right,  conftantly  to  introduce  and  maintain  an  im- 
menfe  difparity  in  the  diflnbution  of  property— were 
it  an  eflential  part  of  thefe  laws,  to  reduce  the  moft 
numerous  clafs  of  citizens,  to  that  which  is  fimply  the 
raoft  neceflary — the  inevitable  refult  of  fuch  a  confti- 
tution  would  be,  to  nourifti  among  men,  a  femimem  of 
habitual  envy  and  jealoufy.  Vainly  would  you  de- 
monilrate,  that  thefe  laws  are  the  only  ones  capable  of' 
exciting  labour^  animating  induftry,  preventing  difor- 
der,  and  oppcfing  obflacles  to  arbitrary  acls  of  autho- 
rity.  All  thefe  conliderauons^.fuSicient,  we- grant,  • 

te 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  21 

•  to  fix  the  opinion  and  the  will  of  the  legiflato",  would 
not  ftnke  in  the  fame  manner  the  man  thrown  on  the 
earth,  without  property,  without  refources,  and  with- 
out hopes  :  and  he  will  never  render  free  homage  to 
the  beauty  of  the  whole,  when  there  is  nothing  for 
him  but  deformity,  abjeftnefs,  and  contempt. 

Men,  in  moft  of  their  political  reafomngs,  are  de* 
ceived  by  refemblances  and  analogies.  I  h?  interefl 
of  fociety  is  certainly  cornpofed  of  the  interefts  of  all 
its  members  :  but  it  does  not  follow  from  this  expli- 
•ation.  that  there  is  an  immediate  and  conftant  corref- 
pondence  between  the  general  and  private  intereft. 
Such  an  approximation  could  only  be  applicable  to  an 
imaginary  focial  ftate,  and  which  we  might  reprefent 
as  divided  into  many  parts,  of  which  the  rich  would 
be  the  head,  and  the  poor  the  feet  and  hands.  But 
political  fociety  is  not  one  and  the  fame  body,  except 
under  certain  relations,  while,  relatively  to  other  in- 
terefls,  it  partakes  in  as  many  ramifications  of  them  as 
there  are  individuals, 

Thofe  confiderations,  to  which  we  annex  an.  idea 
of  general  intereft,  would  be  very  often  fufceptiblc  of 
numberlefs  cbfervations  :  but  the  principles,  we  are 
accuftomed  to  receive  and  tranfmit,  in  their  moft 
common  acceptation  ;  and  we  difcover  not  the  mist 
ideas  which  compofe  them,  but  at  the  moment  when 
we  analyfe  the  principles,  in  order  to  draw  confe- 
quences  from  them  ;  in  like  manner  as  we  perceive 
not  the  variety  of  colours  in  a  ray  of  light,  till  the  mo* 
ment  we  divide  them  by  means  of  a  fprifm. 

The  formation  of  focial  laws,  v/ith  reafon,  ought  to 
appear  one  of  our  mofl  admirable  conceptions  ;  but 
this  iyftem  is  not  fo  muted  in  all  its  parts,  that  a  flrik- 
ing  diforder  would  always  be  the  neceffary  effeft  of 
fome  irregular  movement  :  thus  the  man,  who  violates 
the  laws,  does  not  quickly  difcover  the  relation  of  his 
aftions  with  the  interell  of  fociety  ;  but  at  the  inftant 
enjoys,  er  thinks  to  enjoy,  the  fruit  of  his  ufurpations, . 

Should  a  theatre  be  on  fire,  it  is  certainly  the  inter- 
eft  of  the  aflembly,  that  every  one  go  out  with  order* 
But  if  the  people,  raoftdiftant  from  the  entrance,  be- 
lieved 


22         OF  THE   IMPORTANCE  OF 

IJeved  they  fhould  be  able  to  efcape  fooner  from 
danger,  by  forcing  their  wav  through  the  crowd  which 
lurroundb  them,  they  would  afFiredlv  determine  on 
this  violence,  unlefs  a  coercive  power  prevented  them  : 
yet  the  common  utility  of  r^ftnfcting  ourfetves  to  order 
in  fuch  circumftances,  would  appear  an  idea  more  fim- 
ple.  and  more  diRinft.  than  is  the  univerfal  importance 
of  maintaining  civil  order  in  f  >ciety. 

The  only  natural  defence  of  this  order,  is  govern- 
ment. Its  functions  obliges  it  ever  to  confider  the 
whole  ;  but  the  need  which  it  has  of  power  to  carry 
its  decrees  into  execution,  proves  evidently,  that  it  is 
the  adverfary  of  many,  even  when  ailing  in  the  name 
of  all. 

We  are  then  under  a  great  illufion,  if  we  hope  to 
be  able  to  found  morality  on  the  connexion  of  private 
intereft  with  thar  of  the  public — and  if  we  imagine, 
that  the  empire  of  focial  laws  can  be  feparated  from 
the  fupport  of  religion*  The  authority  of  thefe  laws 
has  nothing  decifive  for  thofe  who  have  not  affifted  to 
eftabhfh  them  :  and  were  we  to  give  to  the  hereditary 
diftinftions  of  property  an  origin  the  moft  remote,  it  is 
no  lefs  true,  on  this  account,  that  the  poor  fucceeding 
inhabitants  of  the  earth,  flruck  with  the  unequal  divi- 
fion  of  its  rich  domains,  and  not  perceiving  the  limits 
and  lines  of  feparation  traced  by  nature,  would  have 
fome  right  to  fay  :  "  Thete  compacts,  thefe  partitions, 
this  adverfity  of  lots,  which  procure  to  fome  abundance 
and  repofe — to  others,  poverty  and  labour  ;  all  this 
Jegiflation,  in  fhort,  is  only  advantageous  to  a  fma-ll 
number  of  privileged  men  :  and  we  will  not  fubfcribe 
to  it,  unlefs  compelled  by  the  fear  of  perfonal  dan- 
ger. What  are  then,"  they  would  add.  "•  thefe  ideas 
of  right  aud  wrong,  with  which  we  are  entertained  ? 
What  are  thefe  diflertations  on  the  neceflity  of  adopt- 
ing fome  order  in  fociety,  and  of  obferving  rules  ?  Our 
mind  bends  not  to  thole  principles,  which,  general  in 
theory,  become  particular  in  practice.  We  find  fon>e 
fatisfaction  and  compenfation,  when  the  idea  of  virtue, 
of  lub.mlfijn,  and  of  facnhce,  is  united  to  religious 
fentiments  ;  when  we  believe  we  (hall  render  aa  ac- 
of  our  aftions  to  %  Supreme  Being,  whofe  laws 

and 


TxELIGlOUS  OPINIONS,  a# 

sad  will  we  adore,  and  from  whom  we  have  received 
every  thing,  and  whofe  approbation  prefects  itfelfto 
our  eyes,  as  a  motive  of  emulation,  and  an  object  of 
recompenfe  ;  but  if  the  comrafited  boundsof  life  limit 
the  narrow  circle  in  which  all  our  intereft  ought  to 
confine  itfelf,  where  all  our  (peculations  and  our  hopes 
terminate,  what  refpecl:  owe  we  then  to  thufe  whom 
nature  has  formed  our  equals  ?  To  thofe  men,  fprung 
from  hfelefs  clay,  to  return  to  it  again  with  us,  and  to 
be  loil  forever  in  the  fame  duft  ?  They  have  only  in- 
vented thefeiawsofjuftice,  to  be  more  rranouil  ufurpers. 
Let  them  defcend  from  iheir  exalted  rank,  that  they 
may  be  put  on  our  level,  or  at  leaft,  preient  us  with  a 
partition  lefs  unequal,  and  we  (hall  then  he  aHle  to  con- 
ceive, that  the  observance  of  the  law*  ot  right  is  of 
importance  to  us.  Till  then  we  fl:a;<  ha\ •<•  \>.  it  motives 
for  being  the  enemies  ofcivu  order,  .\r-ichwi:  rind  fo 
difadvatitageous  :  and  we  do  not  comprehend  how,  in 
the  midft  of-  fo  many  gratifications,  which  excite  our 
envy,  it  is,  in  the  name  of  our  own  imertit,  that  we 
ought  to  renounce  thein." 

Such  is  the  fecret  language  which  men,  overwhelm- 
ed with  the  dittreisok"  then  fuuation,  would  not  fail  to 
ufe,  or  thofe,  who,  merely  in  a  hate  of  habitual  infe- 
riority, found  themfelves  continually  hurt  by  the  fpien- 
did  fight  of  luxury  and  magnificence. 

It  would  not  be  an  eaiy  tafk  to  combat  rhefe  fent- 
iments,  by  endeavouring  to  paint  forcibly  the  vanity 
of  pleafure  in  general,  and  the  iHufion  of  mod  of  thofe 
objects  which  captivate  our  ambition,  and  the  apathy 
which  follows  in  their  train.  1'hefe  retlexions,  with- 
out tloubt,  have  their  weight  and  efficacy  ;  but  if  we 
attentively  confider  the  fubjeft,  every  thing,  that  de- 
fcrves  the  name  of  confutation  in  this  world,  cannot 
be  addrefled  with  any  advantage,  bat  to  minds  prepar- 
ed for  mild  fentimeiits,  l;y  an  idea  of  religion  and  piety, 
wore  or  lefs  d.'ftmcl.  We  cannot,  in  the  lame  man- 
ner, relieve  the  barren  and  ferocious  defpondency  of 
an  unhappy  and  envious  man,  who  has  thrown  far  be- 
hind him  all  hope.  Concentred  in  the  bare  interests 
••••of  a  Hie,  which  is  for  him  eternity,  and  ti~e  univerfe 

iifslf  •; 


24         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

itfelf  ;  it  is  the  pafiion  cf  the  moment  which  enflaves 
him,  and  nothing  can  difergage  him  from  it,  He  has 
not  the  means  to  catch  any  vague  idea,  nor  of  being 
content :  and  as  even  realon  has  need,  every  inftant, 
of  the  aid  of  the  imagination,  he  cannot  be  encourag- 
ed, either  by  the  difcourfe  of  his  friends,  or  his  own 
reflexions. 

Besides,  if  we  can  maintain,  in  general,  that  the 
allotments  of  happinefs  and  mifery  are  more  equal  than 
we  imagine — if  we  can  reafonably  advance,  that  labour 
is  preferable  to  idlenefs — if  we  can  fay,  with  truth, 
that  embarraffments  and  inquietudes  often  accompany 
wealth,  and  that  contentment  of  mind  appears  to  be  the 
portion  of  the  middle  ftate  of  life  ; — we  ought  to  ac- 
knowledge, at  the  fame  time,  that  thefe  axioms  are 
only  perfectly  juft  in  the  eyes  of  the  moralift,  who 
-confiders  man  in  a  comprehenfive  point  of  view,  and 
who  makes  his  calculations  upon  a  whole  life.  But, 
in  the  recurrence  of  our  daily  defires  and  hopes,  it  is 
impoflible  to  excite  to  labour  by  the  expectation  of 
fortune,  and  detract,  at  the  fame  time,  this  fortune  in 
decrying  the  p'eafures  and  conveniences  that  it  pro- 
cures. Thefe  iubtle  ideas,  without  excepting  thofe 
\vhich  may  be  defended,  can  never  be  applicable  to 
real  circurnflances  :  and  if  v/e  fomctimes  ufe  with  fuc- 
cefs  fuch  kind  of  reflexions  to  aiteviate  unavailing  for- 
low  and  regret,  it  is  when  we  have  only  fhadows  to 
cope  with. 

In  fhort,  when  we  have  reduced  to  precept,  all  the 
well-known  reflections,  on  the  apparent,  but  delufive 
advantages  of  rank  and  fortune,  we  cannot  prevent  un- 
cultivated minds  from  being  continually  firuck  with 
the  extreme  inequality  of  the  different  contracts  which 
the  rich  make  with  the  poor.  It  might  be  laid,  in 
fhofe  moments,  that  one  portion  of  mankind  was  form- 
ed only  fornhe  convenience  of  another.  The  poor 
man  facrifices  his  time  and  h;r,  ftrength  to  multiply 
round  the  rich,  gratifications  of  every  kind  :  and  he, 
when  he  gives  in  exchange  the  rr.oft  Icanty  fubfiflence, 
does  not  deprive  himfelf  of  any  thing  ;  fince  the  ex- 
tent of  his.phyfnral  wants  is  bounded  by  the  laws  of 

n  ?•  - ' 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  25 

nature.  Equality,  then,  is  only  re-eftablifiied  by  the 
apathy  \vhich  the  enjoyment  even  of  pieafure  pro- 
duced. But  thefe  difgufts  compofe  the  background 
in  the  pifture  of  life  ;  the  people  perceive  them  not  ; 
and  as  they  have  only  been  acquainted  with  want, 
they  cannot  form  any  idea  of  the  languor  attendant  on 
fatiety. 

Will  any  one  imprudently  fay,  that  if  the  diftino 
tions  of  property  be  an  obftac'e  to  the  eftabhlhmenc 
of  a  political  fyllem  of  morality,  we  ought,  therefore, 
to  labour  to  deflrcy  them  ?  But  if  in  paft  ages, 
when  the  different  degrees  of  talents  and  knowledge 
were  not  ib  unequal,  men  were  not  able  to  prefervc 
a  community  of  pofleffions—  can  you  imagine,  that 
;hefe  primitive  relations  could  be  re-eflabhfhed,  at  a 
time  when  the  fuperiority  of  rank  and  power  is  en- 
forced by  the  immoveable  Mrength  of  disciplined  ar- 
mies. 

Befides,  when  even  in  the  corrrpofuion  of  an  ideal 
world,  we  fliould  have  -introduced  the  moil  exaft  di- 
vjfion  of  the  various  pofTeflions  eftcemed  by  men,  it 
would  flill  be  neceffary,  in  order  to  preferve  a  fylictti 
of  real  equality,  that  every  one  fhould  execute  iaith- 
fully  the  duties  impofed  on  him  by  univerfal  morality ; 
fince  this  is  incumbent  on  every  individual,  for  il:c 
facrifice  that  all  the  members  of  fociety  have  made  ; 
which  fociety  ought  to  recompenfe  every  citi/en  in 
particular,  for  the  reJlriftion,  to  which  he  fubmits 
himfelf. 

It  is  eflential  to  obferve  flill  further,  that  it  is  not 
only  perfonal  interell,  when  clearly  underftood,  which 
ought  to  be  annexed  to  the  idea  of  public  order  ;  it 
is  ihe  fame  intereft  when  led  ad  ray  by  the  pafiions  : 
then  a  mere  guide  is  no  longer  fufficient  ;  a  yoke  mult 
be  impofed,  a  check  always  afting,  which  inuft  be 
ufed  abfolutely.  Nothing  can  be  more  chimerical 
than  to  pretend  toredrain  a  man.  hurried  on  by  an  im- 
petuous imagination,  by  endeavouring  to  reca!  to  his 
remembrance  fome  principles  and  inflructions,  which, 
in  the  terms  of  an  academic  thefts.*  ought  to  be  the 

*  Thefts  propofcd  by  the  French    academy,    with  a  prize" 
for  the  beft  catechii'm  of  morals,  the  initrudtions   of  which 
vrcre  to  bz  founded  on  the  principles  of  natural  right  onh- 


OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

rcfult  of  analyjis.  of  methodizing,  of  the  art  of 
dividing,  cf  developing,  and  circumjcribing  ideas. 
It  would  be,  at  prefent,  a  hardy  enterprife,  to  at- 
fempt  to  conduct  men  by  reafon  alone  ;  fince  the  firft 
rh:ng  that  reafon  discovers  is  its  own  weaknefs.  But 
when  we  want  to  relt  on  maxims  which  admit  of  con* 
troverfy — wh&n  we  wHh  to  oppofe  to  the  ftrong  mo- 
rive  of  perfonal  intereit,  a  moral  confideration  which 
cannot  a6i  but  with  the  concurrence  of  profound  re- 
Jleftion-*-we  recollect  the  doctrine  of  the  firft  econo- 
inifts,  who,  in  eHabiifhing  the  extravagant  principles 
refpefting  an  exc  ufive  right  of  exporting  or  monopo- 
lizing grain,  put  off  the  care  of  preventing  popuiar 
commotions  till  they  fbould  happen. 

It  appears  ro  me,  that  faife  reafon  in?,  on  the  union 
of  private  \vi;h  public  interefl.  anfes  from  applying  to 
The  prefent  ilate  of  fociety,  the  principles  which  have 
ierved  as  the  bafe  for  their  formation  ;  this  very  natu- 
ral confufion  is  one  grand  fource  of  error.  Let  us  try 
co  render  clear  a  proportion,  which,  at  firft,  appears 
difficult  to  comprehend  ;  and  in  this  ;ight  we  will  fup- 
pofe,  for  a  moment,  the  future  generation  aifembled  in 
idea,  in  an  imaginary  world,  and  ignorant,  before  they 
inhabit  the  earth,  who  thofe  individuals  are,  that  ihall 
Jbe  born  of  parents  loaded  with  the  gifts  of  fortune,  and 
of  thofe  who  are  befet  with  mifery  from  their  cradle. 
They  are  infiru&ed  in  the  principles  of  civil  rights  : 
and  the  convenience  of  the  laws  of  order,  has  been  re- 
prefented  to  them,  and  a  fketch  is  drawn  of  the  difor- 
der,  which  would  be  the  inevitable  confequence  of  a 
continual  variation  in  the  divifion  of  property  :  then 
all  thofe  who  are  to  compofe  the  n-^w  generauon,  equal- 
ly uncertain  of  the  lot  that  the  chance  of  'birth  leferves 
for  them,  fubfcribe  unanimoufly  to  thofe  events  which 
await  them;  and  at  the  very  moment,  in  which  the 
relations  of  fociety  extft  only  in  {peculation,  it  might 
be  truly  faid,  that  the  perfonal  iutereft  is  loft  in  the 
public.  But  this  indentiiy  ceafes.  when  each,  arrived 
on  the  earth,  has  taken  poiTc&on  of  his  lot.  It  is  ihen 
no  longer  pofiible,  that  -.he  various  perfona!  interefls 
concur  to  the  maintenance  of  ihefe  prodigious 

gradation! 


£1ELIG'1OU"$  OPINIONS. 

gradations  of  rank  and  fortune,    which  were   dc. 
from  the  chance  of  birth  :   and  thole,    to  whom    c 
and  wants  have  fallen,  will  not  be  reiigned  to  the  infe- 
riority'   of  their   condition,    but    by  a 'grand   reli^tou: 
principle   alone,    which    can  make  them    percciv,: 
eternal  juftice,  and  place   them  in    imaguiation    K 
time,  and  before  the  laws. 

There  is  nothing  to  eafy  as  the  eHabliflimenl  of  con- 
ventions, and  making  ruies  to  be  obferved.  till  the  mo- 
ment or  the  drawing  of  a  lottery,  Every  one  then,  at 
the  fame  point  of  view,  finds  al!  goo-j,  al!  jnll'-j'  and  well 
contrived  ;  and  peace  reigns  by  common  agreement. 
But  as  loon  as  the  blanks  and  prizes  are  ki.ou'n,  the 
mind  changes,  the  temper  grows  four ;  and  without 
the  check  of  authority,  it  would  become  uiimanagea- 
bie,  envioi's,  q«a«cl£chue,  and  fomctitncs  upjuii  and 
violent. 

We  fee,  however.  i!;c  conff querce  to  be  drawn 
from  the  preceding  reflexions  ;  that  political  focietics 
in  contemplation,  and  in  rca'ny,  preterit  to  our  obfcr- 
vation  two  different  periods  :  and  as  thefe  periods  are 
not  fep.irated  by  any  apparent  limits,  they  are  aimoft 
always  confounded  in  the  mind  of  the  poiitira!  moral- 
itf.  He,  who  believes  in  the  union  of  jft-ivate  interest 
With  that  of  (he  public,  and  who  celebrates  this  harmo- 
ny, has  only  couiideied Tocieiy  in  us  general  and  prim- 
itive plan.  He,  who  thinks,  on  the  contrary,  that  the 
whole  is  wrong  and  difcordant.  b^c-i'.ifc  there- :s  a  great 
difference  of  powerand  fortune,  ras  confidered  it  onlv 
under  its  a6^ua!  viciffnudcs.  Bo'h  thcfe  millakcs  have 
received  a  function  from  celebrated  writers.  'J  he  man^ 
harried  away  by  a  lively  i;r  agination,  and  Urongly  im- 
prefied  byprefent  objects,  has  been  iifuck  by  the  ine- 
quality of  conditions  :  and  the  philofopher,  tranfport- 
ed  by  his  abftraftions  beyond  the  circle  of  human  foe:  - 
ety,  has  onir  perceived  thofe  relations  and  principles 
which  led  men  to  fonn  the  hrit  inllitution  of  civil  laws. 
Thus,  every  where  we  fee,  that  mott  difputes  relate  ta 
mere  difference  of  pofitions,  and  the  various  points  of 
view  in  which  the  fame  fubjeft  is  confidered.  '1  here,- 
ftfe  fo  ma,-iy  {lotions  in  the  moral  woifld,  thatj  accord- 

ing 


23         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

in:*    to   that    which   we  choofc,    the  picture  change, 
entirely. 

Hitherto  we  have  endeavoured  to  underftand  the 
effect  \vhich  we  might  expett  from  a  fy.ftera  of  moral- 
ity, by  applying  this  kind  of  inilruclion  only  to  private 
ituerefi,'  when  mod  clearly  afcertained.  It  remains 
now  to  (how,  that  every  fpecies  of  education,  which 
demands  time  and  reflection,  cannot  belong,  in  any 
manner,  to  the  clafs  of  men  moll  numerous  :  and  to 
be  fenfible  of  tS-sis  truth,  it  is  fufiicient  to  turn  our  at- 
tention on  the  focia!  flate  of  thofe  who  are  deftitute  of 
property,  ant!  of  talents  which  might  fupply  its  place. 
Obliged  to  have  recourfe  tn  hard  labour,  where  noth- 
ing i>  required  but  to  employ  their  bodiiy  Hrength, 
their  concurrence,  and  ihc  power  of  riches,  reduce  the 
washes  of  (his  numerous  ciaft  to  what  is  abfolutely  ne- 
ceflury.  They  cannot,  without  difficulty,  fupport 
their  children  ;  and  they  may  well  be  impatient  of 
qualifying  them  for  ufeful  occupations  to  relieve  them- 
ielves  ;  and  this  prevents  their  being  lent  to  public 
fchool.s,  except  durjng  their  infancy.  Thus,  ignorance 
and  poverty  are  in  the  midll  of  our  focieties,  and  the 
hereditary  lot  of  the  greater  part  of  the  citizens.— 
There  is  only  to  be  found  an  alleviation  of  this  gene- 
ral law,  in  thofe  countries  where  the  conftitution  of 
the  government  encourages  the  high  price  of  labour, 
and  gives  the  poor  fome  means  of  refilling  the  defpot- 
ifm  of  fortune.  However,  if  fuch  be  the  inevitable 
effeft  of  our  civil  and  political  legiflaiion,  how  fhall 
•we  be  able  to  bind  men,  without  diftinftjon,  to  the 
maintenance  of  public  order,  by  any  inflruftion,  I  do 
not  fay  complicated,  but  to  which  the  exercife  of  long 
reafoning  forms  only  a  nccelfary  introduction  ?  It 
would  not  be  fufficient  to  endow  inftitutions — it 
would  be  ftill  more  neceflary  to  pay  the  fcholars  for 
their  time  ;  fince,  for  the  lower  clafs,  time  isj  even 
very  early  in  life,  their  only  means  of  fubfiftence. 

Nevertheless,  morality  is  not,  like  other  human 
fciences,  a  knowledge,  that  we  may  be  at  liberty  to 
acquire  at  our  leifure.  The  quickeft  inftruftion  isftiil 
:eo  ijow  3  fine*  man  has  a.  natural  power  of  doing  evil, 

pefors 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  29. 

before  his  mind  is  in  a  ftate  to  apply  to  reflexion,  and 
connect  the  moti  fimple  ideas, 

It  is  nor,  then,  a  political  catcchifm  which  would  be 
proper  for  the  initruction  of  the  people .  1 1  is  noi  a  courfc 
of  precepts  founded  on  the  union  of  public  and  privaic 
intereft,  which  can  fuit  with  the  meafure  of  their  un- 
derRanding.  Even  (hould  a  dodrine  of  that  kind  ap- 
pear as  juit  as  it  feems  to  me  liable  to  be  difputed,  they 
will  never  be  able  to  render  the  principles  of  it  diftintl 
enough  to  apply  them  to  the  purpofes  of  infirufting 
thofe  whofe  education  continue.*  for  fo  fbort  a  time, 
Morality,  founded  on  religion,  by  its  aclive  influence, 
is  precisely  adapted  to  the  particular  fi  mat  ion  of  the 
greater  number  of  men  :  and  this  agreement  is  fo  per- 
fect, that  it  feems  one  of  th^  remarkable  features  of 
univeriai  Harmony.  Religion  alone  has  p  i\ver  to 
pcrfuade  with  celerity,  becaufe  it  excites  pafTion,  while 
it  informs  the  underUanding;  bscaufc  it  alune  has  the; 
means  of  rendering  obvious  what  it  recommends  ;  be- 
caufe  it  fpeaks  in  the  name  of  God,  and  it  is  eufy  to 
infpire  refpeft  for  him,  whofe  power  is  every  whjre 
avidenrto  the  eyes  of  the  fimple  and  (kiifai,  to  the 
eyes  of  children,  and  men  advanced  to  maturity.-. 

In  order  to  attack  this  truth,  let  it  not  be  faid,  that 
the  idea  of  a  God  is  of  all  others  the  moll  incoaipre- 
henfible  ;  and  if  it  be  pofTib'e  to  derive  ufeful-iniiruc- 
tion  from  fo  metaphyfical  a  principle,  we  ought  to  ex- 
peel:  more  good  from  precepts  which  depend  on  the 
common  relation*  or'lifc.  Such  an  objection  ;s  a  mere 
iubnlity.  The  dilim&  knowledge  of  the  elfencc  of  a 
God,  the  Creator  of  the  world,  is,  undoubtedly, above 
the  comprehenfjon  of  men  of  every  age,  and  aii 
faculties  ;  but  it  is  not  the  fatne  with  the  va^  :e  icitTi 
of  a  heavenly  power,  who  punifhes  and  who  ievv.irds, 
Parental  authority,  and  thi  helpleffuefs  of  inianc/, 
prrpare  us  early  for  ideac,  of  obedience  and  command  : 
and  the  world  is  fuch  a  iiupendous  wonder,  a  theatre 
of  fuel)  continual  prodigies,  that  it  Is  eafy  to  annex, 
at  aa  early  period,  hops  and  fear  to  the  idea  of  a  Su- 
preme Being.  Thus,  the  infinity  of  a  God,  Creator 
afid  DiretWr  of  the  univcrfe,  ii'fq  r: 

C   2 


p         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

power  to  divert  our  refpeft  and  adoration,  that  evert 
the  clouds,  with  which  he  envelopes  himfelf,  lend  a 
new  force  to  religious  fentimcnts.  A  man  often  re- 
mains uninterefled  atnidft  the  difcoveries  of  his  reafon  : 
but  it  is  always  eafy  to  move  him,  whenever  we  ad- 
drefs  ourfelves  to  his  imagination  ;  for  this  faculty  of 
our  mmd  excites  us  continually  to  atYion,  by  prefent- 
ing  to  our  eyes  a  great  fpace,  and  by  keeping  us  al- 
ways at  a  certain  diiiance  from  the  objeft  we  have  in 
view.  Man  is  fo  d'.fpofed  to  wonder  at  a  power,  of 
which  he  is  ignorant  of  the  fprings — this  fentiment  is 
fo  natural  to  him.  that  what  we  ought  to  guard  againft 
the  moft  in  his  education,  is  the  inconfiderate  inunua- 
lion  of  various  terrors,  of  which  he  is  fufceptible.— ~ 
Thus,  not  only  the  true  idea  of  the  exigence  of  an 
All-powerful  God.  but  mere  credulous  faith  in  fuper- 
^itious  opinions,  will  always  have  more  power  ovef  the 
common  ciais  of  men,  than  ab  (tract  precepts,  or  g4$ne~ 
ral  conGclerations.  I  know  not  if  it  might  not  even 
fee  faid,  with  truth,  that  the  future  of  this  (bort  life, 
when  we  contemplate  it,  is  further  from  us  than  the 
difiunt  profpeftive  offered  to  the  mind  by  religion  • 
becaufe  our  imagination  is  lefs  rcflramed,  and  the  mi- 
nutell  defcription  of  reafon  can  never  canal  in  power 
ihe  1'vcly  aud  impulfive  ardour  of  thefe  aiFetlions  of 
our  fouls. 

I  re  fume  the  feries  of  my  reflections,  and  fet  dowa 
Ijsre  an  important  obfcrvation  :  which  is.  that  the.. 
more  the  incrcafe  of  taxes  keeps  the  people  in  def- 
pondency  and  mifery,  the  more  indifpenfable  is  it  to- 
give  them  a  religious  education  ;  for  it  is  in  the  irrita- 
Don  of  wretchedricfs,  that  we  all  have  need  of  power- 
ful rellraint  and  of  daily  confolations.  The  fuccelfive 
abufe  of  firen^th  and  authority,  in  overturning  ail  the 
relations  which  originally  exilied  between  men,  have 
jaifed,  in  the  nudil  of  tiicm,  an  edifice  io  artificial,  aud 
in  which  there  reigns  Co  much  difproportion,  that  the 
idea  of  a  God  is  become  more  necellarv  than  ever,  to 
fervc  as  a  ievelier  of  this  confufed  aHemblage  of  dif- 
parities.  And  if  we  can  ever  imagine,  that  a  people 
iliould  exilr,  fubjeft  only  to  the  ISA'S  of  a  political 

Biorality. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  gj 

morality,  we  fliou!d  reprefent,  without  doubt,  a  rifing 
nation,  which  would  be  retrained  by  the  vigour  of 
patriotifm  4n  its  prime  ;  a  nation  which  would  occupy 
a  country  where  riches  had  not  had  time  to  accumu- 
late— where  the  diftance  of  the  habitations  from  each 
other  contributed  to  the  maintenance  of  domeftic  man- 
ners— where  agriculture,  that  fimpleand  peaceful  oc- 
cupation, would  be  the  favourite  employment — where 
the  work  of  the  hands  would  obtain  a  recom- 
penfe  proportioned  to  the  fcarcity  of  the  workmen, 
and  the  extenfive  ufefulnefs  of  the  labour  :  we  fhould 
reprefent,  in  fhort,  a  nation  where  the  laws  and.  the 
form  of  the  government  would  favour,  during  a  long 
time,  equality  of  rank  and  property.  But  in  our  an- 
cient kingdoms  in  Europe,  where  the  growth  of  rich- 
es continually  augments  the  difference  of  fortunes 
and  the  diftance  of  conditions— in  our  old  political  bo- 
4j*s,  where  we  are  crowded  together,  and  where  mife- 
rjr  »*id  magnificence  are  ever  mingled — it  muft  be 
a  morality,  fortified  by  religion,  that  ihall  reftram  thefe 
numerous  fpeftators  of  fo  many  poffellions  and  ob« 
jefts  of  envy,  and  who,  placed  (o  near  every  thing 
which  they  call  happinefs,  can  yet  never  alpire  to  it. 

It  may  be  afked,  perhaps,  in  confequence  of  thefe 
reflections,  whether  religion,  which  firengthens  every 
tic.  and  fortifies  every  obligation,  is  not  favourable  to 
tyranny  ?  Such  a  conciufion  would  be  unreafonable*. 
But  religion,  which  affords  comfort  under  every  af- 
liiftion,  would  necefiarily  footh  alfo  the  ills  which 
arife  from  defpotifrn  ;'  however,  it  is  neither  the  ori- 
gin, nor  the  fuppoit  of  it.  Religion,  well  underHood, 
would  not  lend  its  fnppori  but  to  order  and  juftice  ; 
and  the  inilrutlion  or  political  morality,  propofes  to 
itleif  the  fame  end.  Thus,  in  boih  plans  of  education, 
the  rights  of  the  fovereign,  as  well  as  thofe  of  the  citi- 
zens, conftinite  (imply  one  of  ;he  elementary  parts  of 
the  general  fyiieni  ot  our  duties. 

i  ihall  only  oMerve,  that  the  infufficiency  of  polit- 
ical morality  would  appear  Hill  more  obvious,  in  a 
country,  where  the  nation,  fubjetl  to  the  authority  of 
an  abfolute  prince,  would  have  no  ihare  in  the  govern- 
ment \ 


3S         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE    OF 

ment  ;  for  perfonal  intereft  no  longer  having  an  habit* 
ual  communication  with  the  general  intereR,  there 
would  be  juR  ground  to  tear,  that  in  wiflimg  to  hold 
out  the  union  of  thefe  two  inte>efts  as  the  effential  mo- 
tive of  virtue,  the  greater  number  would  retain  only 
this  idea,  that  personality  was  admitted  for  the  firlt 
principle  ;  and  confequently  every  one  ought  to  re» 
fcrve  to  himfelf  the  right  of  judging  of  the  times  and 
circumflanccs  when  ielf-love  and  patriotifm  are  to  be 
feparated,  or  united.  And  how  many  errors  would 
not  this  produce  ?  Public  good,  like  all  abilraft  ideas, 
has  not  a  precife  definition.  It  is,  for  the  greater  part 
of  mankind,  a  fea  without  bounds  ;  and  it  requires  not 
much  addrefs  or  (hrewdnefs  lo  confound  all  our  analo- 
gies. We  may  know  how  we  would  form,  accord- 
ing to  our  tafle,  the  alliance  of  all  the  moral  ideas,  in 
confidering  with  what  facility  men  know  how  to  recon~ 
cile  with  forne  one  virtuous  quality  the  habitual  infirmi- 
ties of  theircharafter.  He.  who  wounds  without  dif-, 
cretion,  prides  himfelf  in  his  franknefs  and  courage. 
He,  who  is  cowardly  and  timid  in  his  fcntiments  and 
in  his  words,  boalls  of  his  caution  and  circumfpeciion  ; 
and  by  a  new  refinement,  of  which  I  have  feen  lin^ 
gular  examples,  he,  who  afks  of  the  fovereign  pecu- 
niary favours,  endeavours  to  perfuadc  him.  that  he- 
is  compelled  to  this  felicitation,  only  by  a  noble  love 
of  honourable  diftin£tion.  Every  one  is  ingenious  in 
fixing  the  point  of  union  which  connects  his  paflions 
with  fome  virtue  :  would  they,  then,  be  lefs  expert 
at  finding  fome  conformity  between  their  own  inter- 
ell  and  that  of  the  public  ? 

I  cannot,  I  avow,  without  difguft,  and  even  horrors 
conceive  the  abfurd  notion  of  a  political  fociety,  def- 
titute  of  that  governing  motive  afforded  by  religion, 
and  retrained  only  by  a  pretended  connexion  of  their 
private  intereft  with  (he  general.  What  circumfcrib- 
cd  judges!  What  a  multiplicity  of  opinions,  ientnnents 
and  wi-lls  !  All  would  be  in  confulion,  if  we  left  to 
men  the  liberty  of  drawing  their  own  conclufions. 
1  hey  mutt  absolutely  have  a  fimple  idea  to  reguiaie 
their  conduct,  efpecially  when  tiie  application  of  thi& 

principle 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  £g 

principle  may  be  infinitely  diverfified.  God  in  deliv- 
ering his  laws  on  mount  Sinai,  had  need  but  to  fay, 
Thou  Jk alt  not  fleal  j  and  w.ith  the  awful  idea  of 
thai  Gcd,  whom  every  thing  recals  to  our  minds, 
whom  every  thing  imprefles  on  the  human  heart,  this 
fhort  commandment  preferves,  at  all  times,  a  fufficient 
authority.  But  when  political  philofophy  fays,  Thou 
Jhalt  not  Jltal,  it  would  be  neceffary  to  acM  to  this 
precept,  a  train  of  reafoning,  on  the  laws  of  right,  on 
the  inequality  of  conditions,  and  on  the  various  focial 
relations  ;  in-  order  to  perfuade  us  that  it  cornpre» 
hends  every  motive,  that  it  anfwets  all  objections,  and 
refifls  all  attack"..  It  is  neceflary,  further,  that  by  the 
leflfons  of  this  philofophy,  the  moft  uncultivated  minds 
fiiouid  be  qualified  to  follow  the  different  ramifications 
which  unite,  difunite,  and  reunite  afrefh  the  perfonal 
to  the  public  intereft:  what  an  enterprife  !  It  is,  per- 
Haps,  like  wifhing  to  employ  a  courie  of  anatomy,  in 
order  to  direcl  a  child  in  the  courfe  of  fuch  aliamenls 
as  are  proper  for  it,  inftead  of  beginning  to  conduct  it 
by  the  counfels  and  the  authority  of  its  mother, 

Thefe  fame  remarks  are  applicable  to  all  the  virtues, 
of  which  the  obfervance  is  eflential  to  public  order, 
What  method  would  plain  reafoning  take  to  perfuade 
a  fingle  man,  that  he  ought  not  to  deprive  a  hufband 
of  the  affections  of  his  wife?  Where  would  you  af- 
fign  him  a  diftinft  recompenfe  for  the  facrifice  of  his 
paffion  ?  What  windings  fhould  we  not  be  obliged 
to  run  over,  to  demonllrate  to  an  ambitious  man,  that 
he  ought  not,  in  fecref,  to  colurnniaie  his  rival ;  to  the 
folitary  mifer,  armed  with  indifference,  that  he  ought 
not  to  remove  himfelf  from  every  occafion  of  d«ing 
good  ;  to  a  difpofition  ardent  and  revengeful,  that  he 
ought  not  to  obey  tbufe  urgent  impuHes  which  hurry 
him  away  ;  to  a  mau  in  want,  that  he  ought  not  to  have 
recotirfe  to  falfehood  to  procure  attention,  or  to  deceive 
in  any  other  manner  ?  And  how  many  other  pofi- 
tions  would  offer  the  fame  difficulties,  and  fiill  greater  ? 
Abflracl  ideas,  the  bed  arranged,  can  never  conquer 
us  but  by  long  arguments  ;  h'nce  the  peculiar  nature  of 
ideas  is  to  dilengags  our  reafoning  from  the 

feelings, 


34         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

feelings,  and  confequently  from  linking  and  fudder? 
imprefiions  :  befides,  political  morality,  like  every  thing- 
which  the  mind  only  produces,  would  be  always  for 
us  merely  an  opinion — an  opinion  from  which  we 
ihouid  have  a  right  to  appeal,  at  any  time,  to  th-  tri- 
bunal of  our  reafon.  I  he  leiTons  of  men  are  nothing 
but  reprefentations  of  their  judgment  ;  and  the  fend* 
ments  of  fome  draw  not  the  will  of  others.  There  is 
not  any  principle  of  morality,  which,  under  forms  ab- 
foluteiy  human,  wou'd  not  be  fufceptible  of  excep- 
tions, or  of  fome  modification  :  and  there  is  nothing  fo 
compounded  as  the  idea  of  the  connexion  of ••  virtue 
with  happmefs.  Irs  fhort.  while-  o;ir  underllandtng 
hassa  difficulty  in  comprehending  and  clearly  diftin- 
guifhing  that  union,  the  objects  of  our  pa  (lions  are  eve- 
ry where  apparent,  and  ail  our  fenfes  are  pre-engaged 
by  them.  I'he  mifer  beholds  gold  and  (ilver;  the  am' 
bitious  man,  (hofe  honours  which  are  cor.f-rred  on 
others;  the  debauchee,  the  objecls  of  his  luxury.  Vir- 
tue has  nothing  left  but  reafoning  ;  and  is  tben  in  want 
ef  being  fullamed  by  religious  (entiments,  and  by  the 
enlivening  hopes  which  accompany  them. 

Thus,  in  a  government  where  you  wo-iid  wifii  to 
fubttitute  political  morality  for  a  religious  education, 
it  would  become,  perhaps,  indifpenfabie,  to  guard  men 
from- receiving  any  ideas  calcuiared  to  exalt  their  minds  .* 
it  would  be  necelLtry  to  divert  them  from  the  different 
competitions  which  excite  ieif-love  and  ambition  : 
they  mult  withdraw  themtelves  from  the  habitual  foci- 
ety  of  women  :  and  it  would  be  fii^l  more  incumbent 
on  them  to  abohfli  the  ufe  of  money,  '.hat  attracting  and 
comfufed  image  of  all  kinds  of  gratifications.  In  ihort, 
in  taking  from  men  then1  religious  hopes,  and  depriv- 
ing them  thus  of  the  encouragements  to  virtue,  which 
the  imagination  gives  birth  to,  every  exertion  muft  be 
tried  to  prevent  this  unruly  imagination  from  fecond- 
ing  vice,  and  all  the  palTioos,  contrary -to  public  ordsr. 
it  was  becaufe  Felemachus  was  accompanied  by  a  Di- 
vinity, that  he  could,  without  danger,  vifit  the  fump- 
£uous  court  of  SefoHris,  and  the  enchanting  abodes  of 
Eucharu  and  Calypfo. 

li 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  35 

It  is,  indeed,  arvag?  themof}  pleafant,  as  well  as  the 
fafeft  of  our  life,  which  we  cannot  pafs  without  a  guide, 
We  muft,  then,  in  order  to  pafs  with  fecurity  through 
the  tempeftuous  days  of  youth,  have  principles  which 
command  us,  ar.d  not  reflexions  to  counfe.1  us ;  thefe 
have  not  any  power  bui  in  proportion  to  the  vigour  of 
the  mind  ;  and  the  mind  is  <  niy  formed  by  experience 
and  a  long  conflict  of  opinions. 

Religious  inflruftions  have  the  peculiar-advantage 
ef  feizing  the  imagination  and  of  interettmg  our  fenfi- 
feiiity,  thofe  two  brilliant  faculties  of  our  eariy  years. 
Thus.,  ihen,  even  fuppofing  that  we  could  eilablifh  a 
courfe  of  political  morality,  fufficier.tly  propped  by 
jeafoning,  for  -.defending  from  vice  men  enlightened  by 
mammy,  I  ihould  Hill  fay,  that  a-fjmiiar  ^-hilolophy 
would  not  be  fuitabie  to  youth,  and  thai  this  armour  is 
loo  heavy  for  them. 

In  fhort,  the  leflbns  of  human  wifdoro,  which  'can- 
Jiot  govern  us  during  the  ardour  of  our  paflions,  are 
equally  inefficient,  when  ourflrength  being  broken  by 
difeafe,  we  are  no  h.rger  in  a  Hate  to  comprehend  a 
variety  of  relations  ;  inftead  of  which,  iuch  are  the 
pleafing  emotions,  that  accon'pany  the  language  of  re- 
ligion, that  in  the  fncceilive  decline  of  cur  faculties, 
this  language  iliii  keeps  j^uce  with  them. 

Neverthelefs.  if  v.c  \vcreever  to  be  perfuaded,  that 
fbcre  was  on  earth  a  riiore  certain  encouragement  to 
viriue  than  religion,  its  powers  would  be  immed tartly 
v/eakened.  It  would  not  he  lialf  fo  iiitereilipg,  ncr 
could  it  reign  when  divided.  If  its  fentimcws  did 
not  overflow,  as  we  may  fay,  the  human  heart,  all  its 
influence  would  vanifh. 

Rclijj'ous  inflruction,  in  afltmbling  all  the  means 
peeper  to  excite  men  to  virtue,  neglects  not,  it  is  <ri:e, 
so  point  out  the  relations,  which  exiil  between  the 
oblervance  of  the  laws  of  morality  and  the  happincfs 
of  life  ;  but  it  is  as  an  accefTary  motive,  that  theic  con- 
fidcrations  ar?  prefented  :  and  it  is  not  neccfTary  t© 
fupport  thc:ri  by  the  fame  proofs  as  a  fundamental 
principle  requires.  A  Ho,  when  propie  are  taught 
early,  that  vices  ard  crimes  lead  >to  nufery  on  earth," 

l  he  ic 


36         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

thefe  doftrines  make  not  a  'ailing  impreffion  on  thefti, 
but  in  proportion  as  we  fur ceed,  at  the  fame  time  m 
convincing  them  of  the  corftant  influence  of  a  Provi- 
dence over  all  the  events  of  this  werld. 

One  important  reafon  flill  exempts  religious  profef- 
fors,  from  attaching  themfelves  to  demonftrate,  that  the 
principal  advantages  which  excite  the  envy  of  men, 
are  an  abfolute  confequence  of  the  obfervance  of  the 
laws  of  order  ;  it  is,  that  facrifices,  fopported  by  an 
idea  of  duty,  are  changed  into  real  fatisfaftions  ;  and 
the  fentiments,  which  the  virtuous  enjoy  from  piety, 
compofe  an  eflential  part  of  their  happinefs.  But  what 
conlolation  can  a  man  have  by  way  of  return — what 
fecret  approbation  can  we  grant  him,  when  we  know 
not  any  other  authority  than  that  of  political  morality— 
and  when  virtue  is  nothing  but  an  oppofition  between 
pfrVate  and  public  intereft  ? 

Religion  certainly  propofes  to  man  his  own  happi- 
nefs, as  an  objecl  and  ultimate  end.  But  as  this  hap- 
pinefs is  placed  at  a  diftance,  religion  t:onduch  us  to  it 
by  wholefome  reft  rictions  and  temporary  facrifices.  It 
regards  only  the  fubiimeft  part  of  us,  that  which  dif* 
unites  us  from  the  prelent  moment,  in  order  to  connect 
us  with  futurity.  It  offers  us  hopes,  wh'ch  withdraw 
us  from  worldly  intereft,  fo  far  as  is  neceffary  to  pre- 
vent us  from  being  immoderately  devo'ed  to  the  difor- 
dcrly  impreiFion  of  our  fenfes,  aud  the  tyranny  of  our 
pafiions.  Irreligion,  on  the  contrary,  whofe  lefiuns 
teach  us,  that  we  are  only  mailers  of  the  prefent  mo- 
ment, concentres  us  more  and  more  within  ourfeives, 
and  there  is  nothing  beautiful  or  good  in  this  condi- 
tion; for  grandeur,  of  every  kind,  relates  to  the  ex- 
tent of  thole  relations  which  we  comprehend  :  and,  in 
a  like  acceptation,  our  fentiments  fubmit  to  the  fame 
laws. 

Thofe,  who  reprefent  the  obligation?  of  religion-  as 
indifferent,  affure  us,  that  we  may  repofe  fafely  the 
maintenance  of  morality  on  fonie  general  fentiments, 
•which  we  have  adopted  :  but  they  do  not  confider, 
that  thefe  feniimcnts  derive  their  origin,  and  alsnofl  all 
their  force,  from  that  fpirit  of  religion  which  they 

wife 


'RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  S7 

to  weaken.  Yes,  even  humanity,  this  emotion 
of  a  noble  foul,  is  animated  and  fortified  by  the  idea  of  a 
Supreme  Being.  The  alliance  between  men  hoick 
but  feebly  from  the*  conformity  of  their  organization  : 
nor  can  it  be  attributed  to  the  firailitude  of  their  paffion^ 
that  continual  fource  of  fo  much  hatred.  It  depends 
eflemially  on  our  connexion  with  the  fame  Author, 
the  fame  Superintendant,  the  fame  Judge.  It  is  found- 
ed on  the  equality  of  our  right  to  the  fame  hopes,  and 
on  that  train  of  duties  inculcated  by  education,  and 
rendered  refpeftable  by  the  habitual  dominion ©f  religi- 
ous opinions.  Alas!  it  is  a  melancholy  avowal,  that 
men  have  fo  many  infirmities,  fo  much  injuftice,  felf- 
iihnefs,  and  ingratitude,  at  lead,  in  the 'eyes  of  thofe 
who  have  obferved  them  colleftively,  that  we  never 
can  keep  them  in  harmony  by  the  mere  leflons  of  wif- 
dom.  It  is  not  always  becaufe  they  are  amiable,  that 
we  love  them.  It  is  fometimes,  and  very  often,  in- 
deed, becaufe  we  ought  to  love  them,  that  we  find 
them  amiable.  Yes,  goodnefs  and  forbearance,  thefe 
qualities  the  mofi.  fimple,  ftill  require  to  be  compared, 
From  time  to  time,  with  an  idea  general  and  predomi- 
nant, the  band  of  all  our  virtues.  The  paflions  of 
others  wound  us  in  fo  many  ways,  and  theie  is  often 
fo  much  depth  and  energy  in  our  felf-love,  that  we 
have  need  of  fome  fuccour  to  be  conftantly  generous 
in  our  fentiments,  and  to  be  really  interefled  for  a!! 
oar  fellow-creatures,  in  the  midft  of  whom  we  are 
placed, 

in  fliorl,  not  to  diffemble,  if  a  man  once  came  la 
eonfider  himfelf  as  a  being  that  is  the  child  of  chance, 
or  of  blind  necedity.  and  tending  only  to  the  dull  from 
whence  he  fprung1,  and  to  which  he  mult  return,  he 
would  defpife  himfelf:  and  far  from  feeking  to  raifc 
to  noble  and  virtuous  reflections,  he  would  eonfider  ' 
this  fpecies  of  ambition  as  afantaftic  idea,  Hfhich  con- 
fumes,  in  a  vain  and  iilufory  manner,  a  part  of  thbfe 
fleeting  minutes  which  he  has  to  pafs  on  earth  :  and 
ail  his  attention  being  fixed  on  the  ihortnefs  of  life, 
end  on  the  eternal  filence  which  mult  clofe  the  fcene, 
he  would  only  think  how  to  devour  his  reign  of  a 
moment* 

D  How 


§8         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

How  dangerous,  then,  would  itbe,  on  this  fuppofr- 
tion,  to  fhow  to  men  the  extremity  of  tlie  chain  which 
unites  them  together/!  It  is  in  worldly  affairs  this 
knowledge  of  having  received  the  lall  favour,  which 
renders  them  ungrateful  towards  thofe  from  whom  they 
no  longer  expecT  any  thing  :  and  the  fame  fentiment 
would  weaken  the  power  of  morality,  if  our  leafe  was 
inanifeftly  only  for  this  world.  v  It  is  then  religion 
"which  ought  to  Rrengthen  thofe  ties,  and  defend  the 
entire  fyftem  of  our  duty  againft  the  ftratagems  of  rea- 
jfoning  and  the  artifices  of  our  minds.  It  is  necefTary, 
in  order  to  oblige  all  men,  to  coniider  with  refpecl  the 
laws  of  morality,  to  teach  them  early,  that  the  focial 
virtues  are  an  homage  rendered  to  the  perfeftions  and 
to  the  beneficent  intentions  of  the  Sovereign  Author 
»f  nature,  of  that  infinite  Being,  who  is  pieafed  with 
the  prefervation  of  order,  and  the  private  facrifices 
which  the  accompliftiment  of  this  grand  deiign.  re- 
quires. And  when  I  fee  modern  philosophers  trac- 
ing, with  an  able  hand,  the  general  plan  of  our  duties 
— when  I  fee  them  fixing  with  judgment  the  recipro- 
cal obligations  of  citizens — and  giving,  at  laft,  for  the 
fcafis  to  this  legiflation,  perfonal  intereft  and  the  love 
of  praife — I  recollecl  the  fyftem  of  thofe  Indian  phi* 
Jofophers,  who,  after  having  ftudied  the  revolutions  of 
the  heavenly  bodies,  being  perplexed  to  determine  the 
power  which  fuftained  the  vaulted  firmament,  thought 
they  had  freed  it  from  difficulty,  by  placing  the  uni- 
verfe  on  the  back  of  an  elephant,  and  this  elephant 
on  a  tortoife.  We  (hall  imitate  thefe  philofophers, 
and,  like  them,  fhall  never  proceed  but  by  degradation, 
whenever,  by  endeavouring  to  form  a  chain  of  duties 
and  moral  principles,  we  do  not  place  the  laft  link 
.above  worldly  confiderations,  and  beyond  the  limits 
,qf  our  focial  conventions, 


CHAPTER 


RELIGIOUS  QPINIONS, 

C  H  AFTER     II 


The  fame  fubj  eft  continued.  A  parallel  be- 
tween the  influence  of  Religious  Principles, 
and  of  Laws  and  Opinions. 


AFTER  having  examined^  as  I  have  jiift  done, 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  if  it  were  poffible  to- 
found  morality  on  the  connexion  of  private  with  pub- 
lic intereil,  it'remains  for  me  to  confider,  if  the  pun- 
iihments  mfliaed  by  the  fovereigo,  if  the  fceptre, 
which  public  opinion  fways,  have  fuffieient  power  to 
regain  men,  and  bind  them  to  the-  obfervance  of  thoi; 
duty  » 

It  is  necefiary  to  proceed  by  common  ideas,  in  or  > 
der  to  advance  one  degree  in  the  refearch  of  truth  : 
thus  I  ought,  at  firft,  in  this  place,  to  recolleft,  that 
the  penal  laws  cannot  be  applied  but  to  offences  known 
and  proved.  This  confederation  contracts  their  pow- 
er within  a  very  narrow  circle..  However,  crimes  fe~ 
creily  committed,  are  not  the  only  ones  which  are  be- 
yond the  cognizance  of  laws  :  we  rcutl  place  in  this 
rank  every  reprehenfible  aftion,  .which,  for  want  of  a 
diltinft  charatler,  can  never  be  pointed  out  ;  the  num- 
ber of  them  is  prodigious  :  the  rigour  of  parents,  in- 
gratitude  of  children,  the  inhumanity  of  abandoning 
their  nurfes,  treachery  in  friendfiiip,  the  violation  of 
domeitic  comfort,  difunion  fown  in  tjie  bofoms  of  fami- 
lies, levity  of  principles  in  every  focial  connexion, 
perfidious  counfels,  artful  and  flanderous  insinuations,, 
rigorous  exercife  ofauthority^  favour  and  partiality  of 
judges,  their  inattention,  their  idlenefs  and  feverity, 
endeavours  to  obtain  places  of  importance,  with  a 
tonfcioufnefs  of  incapacity,  corrupt  flatteries  addref- 
fed  to  fovereigns  or  minifters,  ftatefmen  indifferent  to 
public  good,  their  vile  ajid  pernicious  jeabufies,  and 

th-ir 


40         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

their  political  diflenfions,  excited  in  order  to  render 
themfelves  neceiTary.  wars  inftigated  by  ambition, 
intolerance  under  the  cover  of  zeal  ;  in  fhort,  many 
other  fatal  evils,  which  the  laws  cannot  either  follow 
or  defcribe,  and  which  often  do-much  miichief,  before 
they  give  any  opportunity  for,  public  cenfure.  We 
ought  not  even  to  dehre  that  this  cenfure  pafs  certain 
bounds  ;  becaufe  authority,  applied  to  ohfcure  faults, 
or  thofa  fufceptible  of  various  interpretations,  eafily 
degenerates  into  tyranny,  and  as  there  is  nothing.  fo 
trunfitory  as  thought  —  nothing  fo  fecret  as  our  ienti- 
ment  —  none  but  an  invifible  power,  whofe  authority 
ieems  to  participate  of  the  divine,  has  a  right  to  enter 
Jnto  the  fecrets  of  our  hearts. 

It  is  then  only,  at  the  tribunal  of  his  own  confciencc, 
that  a  man  can  be  interrogated  about  a  number  of  ac- 
tions and  intentions,  which  efcape  the  infpeftion  of 
government.  Let  us  beware  of  overturning  the  au- 
thority of  a  judge  fo  active  and  enlightened.  Let  us 
beware  of  weakening  it  voluntarily  ;  and  let  us  not  be 
fo  imprudent  as  to  repofe  only  on  fociaJ  difcipline.  J 
fay,  that 


even  venture  to  fay,  that  the  power  of  conference 
is  perhaps  ftill  more  neceflary  in  the  age  we  live  in, 
than  in  any  of  the  preceding.  Though  fociety  no 
longer  prefents  us  with  a  view  of  thofe  vices  and 
crimes  which  fhock  us  by  their  deformity  ;  yet  licen- 
tioufnefs  of  morals,  and  refinement  of  manners,  have 
almoft  imperceptibly  blended  good  and  evil  —  vice  and 
decency  —  falfehood  and  truth  —  felfifhnefs  and  magna- 
nimity. It  is  more  important  than  ever,  to  oppofe  to 
this  fecret  depravity,  an  interior  authority,  which 
pries  into  the  myiterious  windings  of  difguife,  and 
•whofe  action  may  be  as  penetrating,  as  our  diflimula- 
tion  feems  artful  and  well  contrived, 

It  is  undoubtedly,  becaufe  a  fimilar  authority  ap- 
pears abfolutely  neceflary  to  the  maintenance  of  pub- 
lic order,  that  feveral  philofophic  writers  have  endear. 
cured  to  introduce  it  as  a  principle  of  atheifm.  In 
fuch  a  fyftem  the  whole  is  fictitious.  They  fpeak  of 
our  bluming  at  the  recollection  of  our  follies,  of  dread- 
ing our  own  fecret  reproaches,  and  of  being  afraid4of 


41 

the  condemnation^  which,  in  the  calm  of  reflexion,  we 
(hall  pronounce  againft  ourfclves.  But  thefe  fenti- 
ments,  which  have  fo  much  force  with  the  idea  of  a 
God,  they  know  not  what  to  unite  them  with,  when 
they  would  give  only  for  a  guide  the  moft  aftive  pcr- 
ibnal  intereit,  and  wnen  ill  the  grand  communications, 
eftabliflied  between  men  by  religious  opinions,  are  ab~ 
folutely  broken  ;  conicience  is  then  an  expreflion  void 
of  meaning,  a  ufelefs  word  in  the  language.  We  may 
(till  feel  remorle,  that  is  to  fay,  regret  at  being  de. 
ceived  in  the  purfiiits  of  ambition,  in  promoting  our 
intereft,  in  the  choice  of  means  which  we  employ  to 
obtain  the  refpeft  and  praife  of  others  ;  in  fhort,  in  the 
various  calculations  of  our  worldly  advantage.  Bur 
fuch  remorfe  is  only  an  exaltation  of  our  felf-love — 
We  deify,  in  fome  meafure,  our  judgment  and  under- 
Sanding  ;  and  we  make  at  laft  all  our  actions  appear 
before  thefe  falfe  idols,  to  reproach  us  with  our  errors 
and  weaknefics.  We  thus  voluntarily  become  our 
own  tormentors.  But  when  this  perfecution  is  too 
importunate,  we  have  it  in  our  power  to  command 
our  tyrants  to  ufe  more  indulgence  towards  us.  It  is 
not  the  fame  with  the  reproaches  of  confcience. — 
The  fentiments  which  produce  them  have  ^othir.;.'; 
compounded  or  artificial  in  them.  We  cannot  cor- 
rupt our  judge,  nor  enter  into  a  compromife  with  him. 
That  which  feduces  men  never  deceives  him  :  and, 
amidft  the  giddinefs  of  profperity,  in  the  intoxication 
of  the  greateit  fuccefs,  his  looks  are  inevitably  fixed 
on  us  :  and  we  cannot  but  with  terror  enjoy  the  ap- 
plaufe  and  the  triumphs  which  we  have  not  merited', 

We  read  in  feveral  modern  books,  that  with  <jo 
laws  we  (hould  always  have  morality  fuf5ti-nt  ;  but 
1  cannot  adopt  this  opinion.  Man  is  a  being  fo  com- 
pounded, and  his  relations  with  his  fpecies  are  fo  va- 
rious and  fo  fine,  that  to  regulate  his  mind  and  direr  t 
his  conduft,  he  ha's  need  of  a  multitude  of  fentiments, 
on  which  the  commands  of  the  fovereign  have  not  any 
hold.  They  are  all  fimple  and  declared  duties,  which 
the  legiflators  have  reduced  to  precepts  :  and  this 
rough  building,  termed  civil  laws,  leaves  vacar. 
D  2 


42         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

throughout.  The  laws  require  merely  a  blind  obedf* 
ence  :  and  as  they  enjoin  and  prohibit  only  aftions^ 
are  abfolutely  indifferent  to  the  private  fentiments  of 
men.  The  moral  edifice,  which  they  raife,  is  in  feve* 
ral  parts  a  mere  exterior  form,  and  it  is  at  the  roof,  if 
1  may  fay  fo,  that  they  have  begun.  Religion  pro- 
ceeds in  a  manner  diametrically  oppofite.  It  is  in  tha 
heart,  it  is  in  the  receffes  of  confcience,  that  lays  its 
firft  bafe;  It  appears  to  be  acquainted  with  the  grand 
fecrets  of  nature.  It  fows  in  the  earth  a  grain  ;  and 
this  grain  is  nourifhed,  and  transformed  into  numerous 
branches,  which,  without  any  effort,  fpring  up,  and 
extend  themfelves  to  all  dimenfions  and  in  every  kind 
of  form, 

1  will  fuppofe,  nevertbeJefs,  that  we  believed  it  fuf* 
ficient  for  the  maintenance  of  public  order,  to  reduce 
morality  to  the  fpirit  of  civil  laws-— it   would  (till  be 
out  of  the  power  of  men  to  draw   from   this  affimila- 
tion  familiar  inftru&ions  proper  to  form  a  code  of  edu- 
cation ;  forthefe  laws,  fimple  in  their    commands,  are 
not  fo  in  their  principles.      We  perceive  not  immedi- 
ately why  revenge,    the  molt  juft,   is  prohibited — why 
we  have  not  the  power   to  do  ourfelves  juflice  by    the 
lame  means  a  ravimer  would -uCe — why  we  have  not  a 
right  to  refill  with  violence  the  tyrannic  opprellor — in> 
fliort,   why    certain  actions,  fome  indifferent  in  them- 
felves,  and  fome  hurtful  to  others,  are  condemned  in  a 
general  and  uniform  manner  :   a  kind  of  combination 
is  neceffary  to  difcover,    that  the   legiflator    himfelfi& 
•wandering  from  natural  id^as,  in  order  to  prevent  eve* 
ry  perfon  from  being  a  judge  in  his  own  caufe  :  and  to 
avoid  that,  thofe  exceptions  and  diftinftions,  of  which 
every  circumftance   is  fufceptible,  might  never  be  de- 
termined by  the  judgment  of  individuals.    Ln  the  fame 
manner,  from   thofe    indirect  motives,  the    laws   treat 
with  more  rigour  an  offence  difficult  to  define,   than  a 
tliforder    more    reprehenfible    initfelf;  but  of  which 
the  exceffes   might  be  eafiiy  perceived  :   and  they  ob- 
feive  ftill  the  fame  rule   with  refpecl:  to   crimes  which 
are  furrounded  by  greater  allurements,  though  this  fe- 
duclior.  is  evcia  a  motive  for  indulgence  in  the  eyes  cf 

ample 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  4$ 

fitnple  juftice  ;  in  fhort,  the  laws,  in  adopting  a  more 
determined  method,  to  conftrain  debtors  to  the  dif- 
charge  of  their  obligations,  prove  that  they  are  not 
compaflionate  to  uriforefeen  misfortunes,  nor  actuated 
by  other  motives  of  equity  which  merit  an  equal  inter- 
eft  ;  all  their  attention  is  fixed  on  the  relation  of  en- 
gagements with  the  political  resources,  which  arife 
from  commerce  and  its  tran factions.  There  exifls  thus 
a  multitude  of  prohibitions  of  punifhments,  or  grada- 
tions in  the  penalties,  which  have  not  any  connexion 
but  with  the  general  views  of  the  legiflation,  and  agree 
rot  with  the  circumfcribed  good  fenfe,  which  deter* 
mines  the  judgment  of  individuals.  It  is  then  often, 
by  confiderations  very  extenfive  and  complicated,  that 
an  aclion  is  criminal  or  reprehenfibie  in  the  eyes  of  th* 
law.  Thus,  we  know  not  how  to  erecl,  on  this  bafe 
alone,  a  fyftem  of  morality,  of  which  every  one  can 
have  a  clear  perception-;  and  (ince  the  legiflator  care- 
fully avoids  iubmitting  any  thing  to  private  examina- 
tion, becaufe  he  facrifices  often  to  this  principle  natur- 
al jultice,  how  then  can  he  wilh,  at  the  fame  time,  to 
give  us  for  rule  of  conduct  a  political  morality,  which 
is  all  founded  on  reafoning  ? 

It  is  of  confequence  ftiil  to  obferve,  thafte  the  eyes 
ef  the  greater  number  of  men,  the  fenfe  of  the  lavvsj 
and  the  decrees  formed  by  thofe  who  interpret  them, 
ought  neceffarily  to  be  identified,  and  blended,  and 
form  only  one  point  of  view;  and  as  the  judges  are 
frequently  cxpofed  to  error,  the  true  fpirit  of  legiflatioa 
remains  often  in  obfcurity,  and  we  with  difficulty  dif* 
cern  it. 

It  is,  perhaps,  becaufe  laws  are  the  work  of  our 
'.inclerltanding,  that  w-e  are  difpofed  to  grant  them  a 
univerfai  dominion  :  but  I  will  avow,  I  am  far  from 
thinking  that  they  can  ever  be  fubllituted  inttead  cf 
the  falutary  influence  of  religion,,  and.  that  I  believe 
them  infufficient  even  to  reguhte  the  things  immedi- 
ately under  their  jurifdiftion  ;,  thus  1  will  requeft  you 
to  reflecl:,  if  the  unfortunate  errors  with  which  we  re* 
yroach  criminal  tribunals,  have  not  their  fource  in  the; 
fcuiits  commuted  by  fovercign  authority  j  when  it  has 

referred; 


|4         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

referred  all  the  duties  of  the  judges  to  the  injunctions 
of  the  law,  and  when  it  has  refufed  to  confide  any  lon- 
ger in  the  confcience  and  private   fentiments  of  the 
jnagiitrates. 

Let  us  render  this  obfervation  more  clear  by  a  fin- 
gle  example  chofen  from  a  number.  We  demand  at 
prefent,  that  the  legiflator  explain  himfelf  afrefii  on 
the  grand  queftion,  what  witneffes  are  neceflary  ;  but 
will  he  not  always  run  the  rifk  of  being  deceived^ 
whether  he  absolutely  rejefts  a  probable  evidence,  or 
whether  he  makes  the  fate  of  a  criminal  depend  upon 
it  ?  How  will  he  determine  that  the  teftimony  of  an 
honeil  man,  identifying  the  perfon  of  an  affaffin,  in 
his  own  caufe,  fhould  not  be  reckoned  any  thing  by 
the  judge?  and  how  can  he  pretend,  alfo,  that  a  tefti- 
mony of  this  nature  is  fufficient  to  determine  a  con- 
demnation, when  he,  who  gives  the  evidence,  appears 
fufpicious,  either  from  the  motives,  which  he  muft 
iuppofe  aftuate  him,  or  from  the  improbability  of  his 
afifertion  ?  Reafon  is  then  placed  between  two  ex- 
tremes :  but  the  intermediate  ideas  not  being  conlo- 
nant  with  the  abfokue  language  of  law,  we  ought,  in 
fuch  circumftances,  to  leave  much  to  the  wifdom  an»i' 
integrity  of  the  magiftrates ;  and  fo  far  from  ferving 
innocence  by  a&ing  otherwife,  we  yifibly  endanger  it; 
becaufe  judges  habituate  themfelves  to  render  the  laws 
rcfponfible  for  every  thing,  and  reipe£fully  fubmit  to 
the  letter,  inftead  of  obeying  the  fpirit,  which  is  the 
carneft  defire  of  obtaining  truth.  What,  then,  fome 
will  fay,  would  you  wifh,  that  there  fhould  be  no  pof- 
itive  inftruftions,  neither  to  ferve  for  a  guide  in  the 
examination  of  crimes,  nor  to  determine  the  character 
by  which  thefe  crimes  maybe  diftinguifhed  ?  This 
was  never  in  my  mind  :  but  I  could  wifh,  that  in  an 
affair  of  fuch  ferious  importance,  they  would  unite  to 
the  judgment  which  proceeded  from  the  prudence  of 
the  legiflature,  that  which  may  be  brought'by  the  wif- 
dom of  the  judges,  I  could  wifn,  that  the  criminal 
iegiflation  prefcribed  to  the  magittrates,  not  all  that 
they  are  obliged  to  do.  but  all  from  which  they  are  net ; 
not  all  that  is  fuSicient  to  determine  their 

cpinior5 1 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS;  45 

opinion,  but  all  which  ought  to  be  the  indifpenfablc 
condition  of  a  capital  punimment.  Guided  by  fuch  a 
fpirit,  the  commands  given  by  the  law,  would  be  a 
fafeguard  againft  the  ignorance,  or  poffible  prevarica- 
tion of  the  judges.  But  as  any  general  rule,  any  im- 
mutable principle,  is  not  applicable  to  an  infinite  di- 
verfity  of  circumftances,  1  would  give  to  innocence 
a  new  defender,  interefting  in  a  more  immediate  man- 
ner the  morality  of  the  judges  to  fearch  for  and  exam- 
ine truth,  and  to  recal  continually  all  the  extent  of 
their  obligations.  1  could  wifli,  that,  previous  to  their 
pafling  a  fentence  of  condemnation,  raifing  one  of  their 
hahds  towards  heaven,  they  pronounce j  with  earneft- 
nefs  thefe  words  :  c'  I  attcit,  that  the  man  accufed  be- 
fore us,  appears  tome  guilty,  according  to  the  law,  and 
according  to  my  own  private  judgment."  It  is  nst 
fufficiem,  that  we  command  a  judge  to  examine  with 
probity,  if  the  proofs  of  an  offence  be  conformable  to 
thofe  required  by  !he  ftatute..  It  is  neceffary  to  in- 
form a  magiftrate,  that  he  ought  to  enquire  into  the 
truth  by  all  the  means  that  {crapulous  anxiet/  can  fug- 
gcft.  He  (hould  know,  that,  called  to  decide  on  the 
Jife  and  the  honour  of  men,  his  undemanding  and  his 
heart  ought  to  be  enUfted  in  the  caufe  of  humanity, 
and  that  there  are  not  any  limits  oppofed  to  bound  his 
duty.  Then,  without  failing  in  any  of  the  enquiries 
ordained  by  the  laws,  he  would  force  himfclf  to  go 
ftill  further,  that  no  evidence,  proper  to  make  an  in>- 
preffion  on  a  reafonable  man,  might  be  rejected,  at  the 
fame  time,  that  none  might  have  fo  decifive  a  force, 
that  the  examination  of  circumftances  would  ever  ap- 
pear ufelefs.  The  judges. then  would  make  ufe  of  that 
fagacity,  which  feems  to  difcern  inftincYively.  They 
would  not  then  difdain  to  read  even  the  looks 
of  the  accufer  and  the  accufed  ;  and  they  would  not 
believe  it  a  matter  of  indifference  to  obferve  with  at- 
tention, all  thofe  emotions  of  nature,  where  fometime* 
truth  is  painted  with  fo  much  energy.  Then,  in  (hort, 
innocence  would  be  under  the  protection  of  fomething 
as  pure  as^itfelf,  the  fcrupulous  confcience  of  a  judge. 
We  have  cever3.  perhaps,  fufikiently  coniidcred, 

how 


46         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

how  much  a  methodical  order,  when  we  confine  OUT* 
felves  too  fervilely  to  it,  contracts  the  bounds  of  the 
mind.  It  becomes  then  like  a  foot-path  traced  be- 
tween two  banks,  which  prevent  our  discovering  what 
is  not  in  a  itraight  line.  The  drift  obfervance  of  meth- 
od diverts  us  aifo  from  confulcing  that  light,  fometimes 
fo  lively,  of  which  the  foul  only  is  the  focus  ;  for  in 
fubjefting  us  to  a  pofitive  courfe  of  things  always  reg- 
ular, and  in  making  us  find  pleafure  in  a  determined 
path,  which  offers  continual  repofe  to  our  thoughts,  if. 
incapacitates  for  thinking  that  delicate  perception  of 
natural  ientiments,  which"  has  nothing  fixed  or  circum- 
fcribed,  but  whofe  free  flight  often  makes  us  approach 
to  truth,  as  by  a  kind  of  inftinft  or  infpiration. 

I  mould  ftray  too  far  from  my  fubje£t,  if  I  extend- 
ed thefe  reflexions :  and  I  haiten  to  connecl  them  with 
the  fubjeft  of  this  chapter,  in  repeating  again,  that  if 
the  laws  be  infufhcient,  even  in  thofe  decifions  fubmit- 
ted  to  their  authority — and  if  they  have  abfolute  need 
of  the  aid  of  religion,  whenever  they  impofe  on  their 
private  expounders  duties  a  little  complicated — they 
would  be  {till  lefs  able  to  fupply  the  habitual  and  daily 
influence  of  that  motive,  the  molt  powerful  of  all,  and 
the  only  one,  at  the  fame  time, , of  which  the  a£lion 
will  be  fufficiently  penetrating,  ta  follow  us  in  the  maz- 
es of  our  conduct,  and  in  the  labyrinth  of  our  thoughts, 

I  ought  now  to  direcl  your  attention  towards  other 
confiderations.  Ail  that  is  required  by  public  order, 
all  that  is  of  importance  to  fociety,  fome  will  fay,  i$? 
that  criminals  may  not  efcape  the  fword  of  juftice,  and 
that  an  attentive  fuperintendance  difcover  them  under 
the  cloud  where  they  feek  to  conceal  themielves.  I 
will  not  here  recal  the  various  obftacles,  which  are  op» 
ppfed  to  the  plenitude  of  this  vigilance:  every  one  may 
perceive  them,  or  form  an  idea  of  them.  But  I  haften 
to  obferve,  that  in  confidering  fociety  in  its  a&ual  flatc, 
we  ought  not  to  forget^  that  religious  fentiments  have 
greatly  diminifhed  the  tafk  of  government.  A  fcene 
quite  new  would  open,  if  we  had  for  our  guide  only 
political  morality.  It  would  not  then  be  a  few  men 
without  principles,  who  would  trouble  the  public  or- 
der ; 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  # 

tier  :  more  able  aftors  would  mix  in  the  shrong  i  fomef 
conduced  by  mature  reflexion,  and  others,  carried  ' 
away  by  feducing  appearances,  would  be  incenantlyat 
r/ar  with  all  thofe,  whofe  fortune  excited  their  jeal- 
oufy  :  and  then  only  we  mould  know  how  many  op- 
portunities there  are  of  doing  evil,  and  injuring  others. 
It  would  alfo  happen,  that  all  thcfc  enemies  of  public 
order  not  being  difconcerted  by  the  reproaches  of  their 
confcience,  would  become  every  day  more  expert  in 
the  art  of  avoiding  the  obfervation  of  juitice  ;  and  the 
dangers,  to  which  the  imprudent  expofed  themfelves, 
would  not  difcourage  the  ingenious. 

It  is  then,  if  I  may  be  permitted  fo  to  exprefs  my- 
felf,  becaufe  the  laws  find  men  in  a  healthy  Hate,  pre- 
pared by  religious  inltruftion,  that  they  can  reftrain 
them  :  tut  if  a  fyftem  of  education,  merely  political, 
were  ever  to  prevail,  new  precautions  and  new  chains 
would  become  abfoiutely  tieceffary  ;  and,  after  having 
freed  us  from  the  mild  ties  of  religion,  the  projectors  of 
fuch  a  fyftem  would  increafe  our  civil  flavery,  would 
bend  our  necks  under  the  hardeft  of  all  yokes,  that 
which  is  impofed  by  our  fellow-creatures. 

Religion,  whofe  influence  they  wifh  us  to  reject,  is 
better  appropriated,  than  they  think,  to  the  mixture 
of  pride  and  weaknefs,  which  conftitutes  our  nature  : 
and  for  us,  fuch  as  we  are,  its  aclion  is  far  preferable 
to  that  of  the  penal  laws.  It  is  not  before  his  equals, 
armed  with  the  rod  of  vengeance,  that  the  culprit  is 
made  to  appear.  It  is  not  to  their  ignorance,  or  to 
their  inexorable  jufiice,  that  he  is  abandoned.  It  is 
at  the  tribunal  of  his  own  confcience,  that  religion  in- 
forms againft  him  ;  before  a  God,  Sovereign  of  the 
world,  that  it  humbles,  and,  in  the  name  of  a  tender 
and  merciful  Father,  that  it  comforts  him.  Alas  ! 
while  you  at  once  take  from  us  both  our  confolation 
and  our  true  dignity,  you  wifh  to  refer  every  thing  to 
private  intereft  and  public  punifhment.  But  permit 
me  to  liften  to  thefe  command?  which  come  from  on 
high.  Leave  me  to  divert  my  attention  from  the  me- 
nacing fceptre  which  the  potentates  of  the  earth  wield 
•in  their  hand; — leave  me  to  account  with  him,  be- 
fore 


4&         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

fore  whom  they  fhrink  into  nothing;  leave  me,  in 
mort,  to  addrefs  myfelf  to  him  who  pardons,  and  who, 
at  the  moment  I  have  offended,  permits  me  ftill  to  love 
him,  and  rely  on  his  grace  ! — Alas!  without  the  con- 
nexion with  a  Supreme#Being,  Author  of  all  nature,  w* 
fhouldonly  liften  to  the  vilecounfelsof  felfifh  prudence; 
we  {hould  only  have  to  flatter  and  adore  the  rulers  of 
nations,  and  all  thofe,  who,  in  an  abfolute  monarchy, 
are  the  numerous  reprefentatives  of  the  authority  of 
the  prince.  Yes,  talents,  fentiments,  ought  to  bend 
before  thefe  diftributors  of  fo  much  good  and  evil,  if 
nothing  exift  beyond  worldly  interefl ;  and  when  once 
every  one  cringes,  there  is  no  more  dignity  in  the 
character  ; — men  become  incapable  of  any  great  action^ 
and  unequal  to  any  moral  excellence. 

Religious  opinions  have  the  double  merit  of  main- 
taining us  in  the  obedience  due  to  the  laws  and  the 
fovereign,  and  of  nuuri filing  in  our  hearts  a  fentiment 
which  fuftains  our  courage,  fcminds  men  of  their  true 
grandeur  ;  teaches  fubmiffion  without  meannefs  ;  and 
prevents,  above  all,  cowardly  humiliations  before  tran- 
litory  idols,  in  fliowing,  at  a  diflance,  the  laft  period, 
when  ail  mutt  return  to  an  equality  before  the  Mafler 
of  the  world. 

The  idea  of  a  God,  at  the  fame  diftance  from  ail 
men,  ferves  alfoto  confole  us  for  that  mocking  fuperi- 
oriry  of  rank  and  fortune,  under  the  oppreffion  of  which 
we  live.  It  is  neceffary  totranfport  ourfeives  to  the 
heights  religion  difcovers,  to  confider  with  a  kind  of 
calmnefs  and  indifference  the  frivolous  pretentions  of 
lome,  and  the  confident  haughtinefs  of  others ;  and 
fuch  objefts  of  regret,  or  of  envy,  which  appeared  a 
Coloffus  to  our  imagination,  are  changed  into  a  gram 
of  fand,  when  we  contraft  them  with  the  grand  prof- 
pefts,  which  fuch  fublime  meditations  ciiiphy  to  our 
view. 

Thofe  then  are  blind,  or  indifferent  to  our  intereft,, 
•\vhowifii  to •fubftiime,  inflead  of  religious  inflruclionr, 
political  and  worldly  mcxims  ;  and  in  like  manner, 
thofe  are  inflexible  and  unfeeling,  who  believe  they 
iliall  be  able  to  conduct <men  only  by  terror ;  and  who, 

in 


-RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  49 

IK  contefting  the  falutary  influence  of  religious  opinions, 
dxpeft  lefs  from  them,  than  from  the  axe  of  the  lifters, 
and  the  apparatus  of  execution.  What  is  then  this 
wretched  fyftem  ?  For,  even  fnppofing  that  the  differ- 
ent means  for  fecuring  public  g»nquiiity  were  equal 
in  their  effeft,  Ihould  we  not  prefer  religious  princi- 
ples, whicfc  prevent  crimes,  to  the  flrift  laws  which 
punifh  them  ?  I  underlland  not,  befides,  how,  witli 
the  fame  hand  that  they  repel  religious  femiments,  they 
wifh  to  raife  every  where  fcarfblds,  and  multiply, 
without  fcruple,  thofe  frightful  theatres  of  feverity  ; 
for  if  men,  hurried  onv/ards  to  crimes,  were  only  gov- 
erned by  blind  neceflity,  alas !  what  do  they  deferve  ? 
And  if  we  fiill  determine  to  tiefiroy  them  as  example?, 
we  mould  aflift  at  their  execution,  as  at  that  of  beings 
devoted  for  the  good  of  fociety,  as  Iphigenia  was  facn- 
ficed  at  Aulis  for  the  falvation  of  Greece. 

Religion  is,  in  another  fefpecl,  fuperior  to  the  laws, 
which  are  ever  armed  for  vengeance.  Inftead  of  that, 
Religion,  even  when  threatening,  nouriflies  alfo  the 
hopes  of  pardon  and  felicity  :  and  I  believe,  contrary 
to  the  generally  received  opinion,  that  mm,  by  his  na- 
ture, is  more  conitantly  animated  by  hope,  than  rdlainccl 
by  fear.  The  former  of  thefe  fentiments  compofes  the 
tenor  of  our  life;  while  the  latter  is  the  effstt  of  an 
extraordinary  circum'Uance,  or  particular  fituaticn.— ~ 
In  Ihort,  courage  or  want  of  confiderat;6n,  turns  our 
attention  from  danger  ;  while  ideas  of  happinefs  are 
perpetually  prefent,  and  blended,  if  I  rrfay  ule  the  cx- 
pireflion,  with  our  whole  exigence. 

I  perceive,  however,  that  fame  may  fay  to  me,  it 
is  not  only  of  civil  and  penal  laws  that  we  mean  to 
fpeak,  when  we  maintain  that  good  public  inflitutions 
would  be  an  efficacious  fubftitute  for  the  influence  oF 
religion.  It  would  be  necellary  to  introduce  laws;  of 
education,  proper  to  modify,  beforehand,  the  mind, 
and  form  the  charafter.  But  they  have  not  explained, 
and  I  am  ignorant  that  there  are  fuch  laws,  which 
;hey  wifii  to  diitmguifh  from  the  general  doctrines  wo 
are  acquainted  with  ;  doctrines  fufceptible,  undoubt- 
eiily,  of  different  degrees  of  .perfection,  which,  before 


^o         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

inftrucling  us  not  only  in  the  virtues  fimple  ant!  real, 
but  in  all  thofe  mixed  and  conventional,  have  neceda- 
rily  a  vague  character,  and  could  not  feparate  them- 
ielves  from  the  fupport  that  they  borrow  from  the 
fixed  and  precife  ideas  of  religion.  They  may  cite 
the  example  of  Sparta,  where  the  flats  undertook  the 
education  of  the  citizens,  and  formed,  by  laws,  the 
extraordinary  manners  which  hiftory  has  delineated. 
But  that  government,  aided  in  this  enterprife  by  aii 
the  influence  of  paternal  authority,  neverthelefs  pro- 
poied  but  two  great  objefts — the  encouragement  of 
martial  qualities — and  the  maintenance  of  liberty. — - 
Morality  was  not  made  interefling  ;  though  among  us 
it  requires  fo  much  application  :  and  it  was  rendered 
lefs  neceflary,  as  every  inftitution  tended  to  introduce 
a  perfeft  equality  of  rank  and  fortune,  and  oppofed  all 
kind  of  communication  with  foreigners.  In  fhort,  it 
was,  after  all,  a  religious  opinion  uhich  fubjefted  the 
Spartans  to  the  authority  of  their  legiflator  :  and 
without  their  confidence  in  the  oracle  of  Delphos, 
Lycurgus  had  only  been  a.  celebrated  philofopher. 

We  are  iliSl  further  at  prefent,  from  the  difpofition 
and  fituation  which  would  allow  laws  of  education  to 
govern  us,  fupported  only  by  a  political  fpirit.  In 
order  to  make  the  trial,  we  muft  be  divided  into  little 
aflociations  ;  and  by  fome  means  not  yet  difcovcred, 
be  able  to  oppofe  invincible  obftacles  to  the  enlarge- 
ment of  them,  and  to  p  refer  ve  us  from  the  defires  and 
voluptuoufnefs  which  are  the  inevitable  confequence 
of  an  augmentation  of  wealth,  and  the  progrefs  of  the 
arts  and  fciences:  In  (liort,  .and  it  is  fingular  remark9 
at  a  period  when  man  is  become  a  being  the  moft  com- 
pounded, on  account  of  thofe  focial  modifications,  he 
had  need,  more  than  ever,  of  a  principle  which  will 
penetrate  to  the  very  fource  of  his  numerous  affec- 
tions :  confequently  it  would  be  neceiTary  fuddenly  to 
carry  him  back  to  his  primitive  fimplicity,  to  make 
him  agree,  in  fome  meafure,  with  tha  limited  ex'.erit 
of  an  education  purely  civil.  Let  me  add,  that  a  like 
education  could  not  be  adapted  to  the  commonality, 
as  in  Sparta.  They  mult  be  feparated  from  the  citi- 
zens. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  51 

sens,  and  kept  in  fervitude  ;  an  obfervation  which 
leads  me  to  a  very  important  reflection  :  it  is,  that  in 
a  country  where  flavery  would  be  introduced,  where 
the  moil  numerous  clafs  wonld  be  governed  by  the 
continual  fear  of  the  fevered  cliafti foment,  they  would 
be  able  to  confide  more  in  the  mere  afcendency  of  po- 
litical morality  ;  for  this  morality  only  having  to  keep 
in  order  the  part  of  fociety  reprefented  by  thofe  who 
have  property,  the  tafk  would  not  be  difficult.  But 
among  us,  where  happily  all  men,  without  any  dif- 
tinclion,  are  fubject  to  the  yoke  of  the  la\v,  an  autho- 
rity fo  extenfive,  mud  neceflarily  be  flrengthened  and 
feconded  by  the  univerfatinfluencc  of  religious  opin. 
ions. 

I  fha'.I  conclude  this  pait  of  my  fubjeft  by  one  re- 
flection more  :  fuppoGng,  even  in  the  iovereign  au- 
thority, an  exertion  fufficiently  general  to  prevent  or 
reprefs  evil,  religion  would  ftill  have  this  great  ad- 
vantage, that  it  inculcates  the  benificent  virtues, 
which  the  laws  cannot  reach  :  and  yet,  in  the  actual 
fiate  of  fociety,  it  is  become  impoflible  to  omit  thofe 
virtues.  It  is  not  fufficient  to  be juft,  when  the  laws 
of  property  reduce  to  bare  necedaries  the  mofl  nu- 
merous clafs  of  men,  whofe  weak  refources  the  moil 
trivial  accident  difconcerts.  And  I  hefitate  not  to 
fay,  that  fuch  is  the  extreme  inequality  eftablifhed  by 
thirfe  laws,  that  wo  ought  at  prefent  to  confider  the 
fpirit  of  benificence  and  forbearance,  as  conflitutinn.a 
part  of  focial  order ;  as  in  all  places  and  times,  it  fofcens 
by  its  alliltance  the  excefs  of  wretchednefs,  and  by  an 
innumerable  multitude  of  fprings,  fpreads  itfelf,  as  the 
vital  juice,  through  forlorn  beings,  whom  mifery  had 
almoft  exhaufted,  But  if  this  fpirit,  properly  inter- 
mediate between  the  rgour  of  civil  rights,  and  the 
original  title  of  humanity,  did  not  exift,  or  fhould 
ever  be  extinft,  we  fhould  fee  all  the  fuberdinate  ties 
relax  imperceptibly  :  and  a  man,  loaded  with  the  fa- 
vours of  fortune,  never  prefenting  himfelf  to  the  peo- 
ple under  the  form  of  a  benefactor,  they  would  more 
forcibly  feel  the  great  extent  of  his  privileges,  and 
would  accuftcm  themfelves  to  difcufs  them»  Men 

muft 


52         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  Of 

muft  then  find  a  way  of  moderating  the  defpotifrrraf 
fortune,  or  render  homage  to  religion,  which,  by  th.~ 
fublime  idea  of  an  exrhange  between  the  bleflings  of 
heaven  and  earth,  obliges  the  rich  to  give  what  the 
Jaws  cannot  demand. 

Religion  then  comes  continually  to  aflift  the  civil 
legiflation.  It  fpeaks  a  language  unknown  to  the 
laws.  It  warms  that  fenfibility  which  ought  to  ad? 
vance  even  before  reafon.  It  afts  like  light  and  in- 
terior warmth  ;  as  it  both  enlightens  and  animates  :— -* 
and  what  we  have  not  fufficiently  obferved,  is,  that 
in  fociety  its  moral  fentiments  are  the  imperccptib!« 
tie  of  a  number  of  parts,  which  feem  to  be  held  by  their 
own  agreement,  and  which  would  be  fucceffjvely  de- 
tached, wf  the  chain,  which  united  them,  were  ever  to, 
be  broken.  We  (hall  more  clearly  perceive  this 
truth,  in  the  examination  we  are  g°ing  to  make,  of 
the  connexion  of  opinion  with  morality. 

When  we  imagine  we  fhouid  be  able  to  fubjeft 
raen  to  the  cbfervance  of  public  order,  and  infpire 
them  with  the  love  of  virtue,  by  motives  independ- 
ent of  religion,  we  propofe,  undoubtedly,  to  put  in 
aclion  two  powerful  fprings — the  defire  of  efteern  and 
praife — and  the  fear  of  contempt  and  (hame.  Thus,  to 
follow  my  fubjeft  in  all  its  branches,  I  ought  necef* 
farily  to  examine  what  is  the  degree  of  force  of  thefe. 
different  motives,  and  what  is  alto  their  true  applica- 
tion. I  have  already  fpoken,  in  other  works  of 
mine,  of  the  opinion  of  the  world,  and  of  its  falutary. 
effects  ;  but  the  fubjeft  I  am  now  treating,  obliges 
me  to  confider  it  under  a  different  point  of  view,  and. 
it  is  by  placing  my  felf  behind  the  fccne,  that  I  fliall.: 
be  able  to  fulfil  this  tafk. 

I  remark  at  firft.  that  the  opinion  of  the  world  ex- 
crcifes  its  influence  in  a  very  confined  fpace  ;  as  it  is 
particularly  called  in  to  judge  men,  whofe  rank  and 
employments  have  fome  fplendor  in  the  world.  The 
opinion  of  the  public  is  an  approbation  or  cenfure, 
exercifed  in  the  name  of  the  general  intereft  ;  thus  it 
ought  only  to  be  applied  to  actions  and  to  words^ 
which  either  direftly  or  indire&Iy  aflfcft  ibis  intereft.' 

Ths 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  53 

The  private  conduft  of  him  who  difcharges  in  fociefy 
tht  moft  important  functions,  is  indeed  fubmitted  to 
the  judgment  and  fuperintendance  of  the  public  at 
large  :  and  we  o'ight  not  to  wonder  that  it  fhould  ; 
frncein  fimilar  circurnftances  the  principles  of  an  in- 
dividual appear  an  earneli,  or  prefage  of  his  public 
virtues.  But  all  thofe,  whofe  fole  occupaiion  is  to 
fpend  their  income,  thofe  who  are  entirely  devoted  to 
diflipation,  and  have  not  any  connexion  with  the 
grand  interefts  of  the  community,  become  independ- 
ent of  the  opinion  of  the  world  ;  or  at  lead  they  do 
not  experience  its  feverity,  till,  by  fooi'fli  extrava- 
gance or  inconfiderate  pretenfions,  they  draw  the  at- 
tention of  the  public  on  their  conduft.  In  fhort,  a 
great  number  of  men,  who,  by  the  obfcurity  of  their 
condition  and  moderate  fortune,  find  themfelves  loft 
in  a  crowd,  will  never  dread  a  power  that  fingles  out 
of  the  ranks  its  heroes  and  vitlims.  Thus  people, 
concealed  under  humble  roofs,  fcattered  in  the  coun- 
try, are  as  indifferent  to  the  opinion  of  the  world,  as 
are,  to  the  rays  of  the  fun,  thofe  unhappy  tribes,  who- 
labour  at  the  bottom  of  mines,  and  pafs  their  whole 
lives  in  dark  fubterraneous  caverns. 

We  cannot,  then,  form  any  kind  of  comparifon  be- 
tween the  peculiar  afcendency  of  reputation,  and  the 
general  influence  of  religious  morality. 

Fame  only  recompenses  rare  actions ;  and  would 
have  nothing  to  beftow  on  a  nation  of  heroes.  Reli- 
gion tends  continually  to  render  virtue  common  :  but 
the  univerfal  fuccefsof  its  vnllruftions  would  take  away 
nothing  from  the  value  of  its  benefits. 

In  order  to  receive  the  rewards  which  fame  beilo'.vs, 
Tieri  mult  appear  with  fplendor  on  the  ft  age  of  life. 
Religion,  on  the  contrary,  exiends  its  rnoii  diflinguifh- 
z<\  favours  to  thofe  who  defpife  praife,  and  who  do 
good  in  fecret. 

The  word  almnft  always  requires,  that  talents  and 
knowledge  fhould  accompany  Virtue  :  and  it  is  thus, 
that  the  Sove  of  praife  becomes  the  feed  and  fpring  of 
great  aftions.  Religion  never  impofes  this  condition. 
Its  recompenses  belong  to  the  ignorant  as  well  as  the 
E  2  learned, 


S4         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

learned,  to  the  humble  fpirit  as  well  as  to  the  exalted 
genius;  and  it  is  in  animating  equally  a!l  men,  in  ex* 
citing  univerfal  activity,  that  it  effectually  concurs  to 
the  maintenance  of  civil  order. 

The  world,  only  judging  of  a£Uons  in  their  ftate  of 
•maturity,  takes  not  any  account  of  efforts  :  and,  as 
men  do  not  ieize  the  palm  till  the  moment  when  they 
approach  the  goal,  it  is  necefiary,  at  the  comrrence- 
'  merit  of  the  career,  that  every  one  ihould  derive  from 
his  own  force  his  courage  and  perfeverance.  Religion, 
on  the  contrary,  if  I  may  fay  fo,  dwells  with  us  from 
the  moment  that  we  begin  to  think.  It  welcomes  our- 
intentions  ;  ftrengthens  our  resolutions  ;  and  fupporte- 
us  even  in  the  hour  of  temptation.  At  all  times,  and 
in  all  frtuations,  we  experience  its  influence,  as  we  are 
continually  reminded  of  its  rewards. 

Fame  diftributing  only  favours,  whofe  principal  va- 
lue arifes  from  comparifons  and  competitions,  often 
craws  on  its  favourites  the  envenomed  breath  of  (lan- 
der, and  then  lometimes  they  doubt  about  their  real 
value.  Religion  mingles  no  bitterncfs  with  iis  reward* 
It  is  in  obfcurity  that  it  confers  content  :  and  as  it  has 
ireafures  for  all  the  world,  what  is  granted  to  feme* 
never  impoverishes  others. 

Tiie  world  is  often  mifiaken  in  its  judgment  ;  becaufe. 
jn  the  midfl  of  fo  vail  a  circle, "it  is  often  difficult  to 
diOinguifh  true  merit,  and  the  fplcndor  which  follows^ 
it,  from  the  falfe  colours  of  hypocnfy.  Reiigion  ex- 
tends its  influence  to  the  imnoil  recedes  of  the  heart  ; 
and  places  there  an  obferver,  who  has  a  elder  view  of 
men  than  their  a£tioi)s  afford,  aud  whom  they  cannot 
tither  deceive  or  furprile. 

In  fhort,  1  will  fay,  there  are  moments,  when  %'ie 
opinion  of  the  world  lofes  its  force,  and  becomes  ener- 
vated or  governed  by  a  fervile  fpirit;  it  fearches  to 
iind  faults  in  the  opprefted  ;  and  attributes  grand  in- 
tentions to  powerful  men,  that  it  may,  without  /harne, 
abandon  one,  and  celejrate  the  other.  Ah  !  it  is  m 
iuch  rnoiwenis  we  return  with  delight  to  the  precepts 
of  religion,  to  thofe  independent  principles,  which, 
while  they  iUuitrate  every  thing  dderving  of  ctleemor 

contempt, 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  53, 

contempt,  enable  us  to  follow  the  diftates  of  our  hearty 
and  fpeak  according  to  our  confcience  ! 

Thus,  the  opinion  of  the  world,  whofe  influence  I 
have  feen  increafe,  which  unites  fo  many  motives  to 
excite  men  to  diftinguiflied  a£lions,  and  to  exalt  them 
even  to  the  great  virtues,  (till  ought  never  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  univerfal,  invariable  influence  of  relig- 
ion, and  with  thofe  fentiments  with  which  its  precepts 
infpire  men  of  all  ages,  of  all  conditions,  and  every 
degree  of  underitanding. 

Would  it  be  flraying  from  my  fubjeft,  to  remark 
here  the  illufion  we  are  under,  if  we  expect  any  impor* 
tant  utility  to  arife  from  thofe  marks  of  diltinclion  late- 
ly introduced  into  France,  under  the  name  of  public 
rewards  for  virtue  ?  Thofe  trivial  favours  of  opinion 
can  never  be  decreed  but  to  a  few  difperfed  actions  ; 
and  it  might  be  apprehended,  that  if  we  rendered  fuch. 
inititutions  permanent  and  general,  they  might  turn 
the  attention  of  the  people  at  large  from  the  grand  re- 
compenfe,  which  ought  to  be  the  fpring  and  encour- 
agement of  all  that. is  great  and  virtuous.  Experienc- 
ed hunters,,  at  the  moment  when  ail  the  pack  is  Itili 
purfuing  the  mod  noble  ranger  ot  the  foreit,  would  not 
permit  them  to  turn,  to  run  after  a  prey  which  darted 
out  of  a  lurking  hole  or  thicket. 

T he  eUabiifhments,  on  which  I  here  fix  my  atten- 
tiop,  have,  perhaps,  alfo  the  inconvenience  of  roufing 
a  ientiment  of  furprife  at  the  appearance  of  a  good  ac- 
tion, and  announcing  thus  too  diiirnftly,  that  they  be- 
lieve it  rare,  and  above  the  common  exertions  of  hu- 
manity :  and; if  we  extended  dill  further  thefe  inltitu- 
tionsj  they  would  only  imroduce  a  fpirit  of  parade, 
always  ready  to  larguiih,  when  applaufe  was  diitant  ;. 
and  it  would  he  a  great  misforiuns,  if  fuch  a  fpiric 
ever  took  place  of  iimple  and  modeft  integrity,  which 
receives  from  itfttf  us  motives  and  reward.  Virtus- 
and  vanity  make  a,. bad  mixture  ;  men  are  then  accuf- 
torned  only  to  aft. to  be  feen  ;  and  thefe  opportunities, 
at  prefent  not  very  numerous,  they  wifh  to  choofe. 
There  is,  beiiiles,  a  clafs  of  men  fo  ill  treated  by  for- 
luae;  dial  we  ihould  ccaim.it  a  great  imUaks  in  habitu- 

atmg 


$6         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

ating  them  to  conneft  continually  calculations  of  prob^ 
able  rewards  from  men,  with  the  practice  of  their  duty  ; 
they  would  too  often  be  deceived 

It  is,  then — we  cannot  too  often  repeat  it — it  is 
refpecl  for  morality,  which  it  is  necelfary  to  maintain, 
by  ftrengthening  religious  principles,  its  molt  folid 
foundation.  All  other  extraordinary  helps  derive  their 
force  from  novelty  :  and  at  the  period,  when  fociety 
would  have  the  greateft  need  of  their  fuccour,  it  would^ 
perhaps,  have  arrived  at  its  greateft  depravity. 

Thus  far,  at  prefent.  I  have  confidered  the  influence 
of  opinion,  only  in  general :  but  men  mamfeft  more 
in  a  private  manner,  the  idea  that  they  have  conceived 
of  each  other  :  and  this  fentiment,  which  takes  then 
the  fimpie  name  of  efteetn,  is  cormecled  with  a  deter- 
minate knowledge  of  the  moral  character  of  thofe  with 
whom  we  have  an  habitual  correfpondence.  Efteem, 
under  this  view,  has  not  the  fplendor  of  reputation  j 
but,  as  every  one  can  pretend  to  it  in  the  circle  where 
his  birth  and  occupations  have  placed  him,  the  hope  of 
obtaining  it  ought  to  be  reckoned  among  the  grand 
motives  which  excite  us  to  the  obfervance  of  morality; 
However,  if  we  fuppofed  that  this  efteem  was  entirely 
feparated  from  religious  lentiments,  it  would  be  like 
many  other  advantages,  which  every  one  would  efti- 
raate  by  his  own  fancy  ;  for  whatever  comes  folcly. 
from  men,  can  only  have  a  price  relative  to  our  con- 
nexion with  them.  Thus  the  efleem  of  one,  or  of  fev- 
eral  perfons  would  not  indemnify  for  fuch  a  facrifice  ; ' 
and  often  alfo  this  fentiment,  on  their  part,  would  ap- 
pear inferior  to  feme  other  objects  of  ambition.  In  a 
•word,  from  the  moment  every  preference,  every  valu- 
ation was  brought  to  a  iiandard,  each  would  -infenfibiy 
have  his  own  book  of  rates :  and  the  jiiftnefs  of  them 
would  depend  on  the  degree  of  judgment  and  fovefight 
of  every  individual.  But  how  can  we  imagine,  that 
perfection  in  morality  would  ever  be  fecure,  when  it 
depended  on  wavering  and  arbiirary  comparifons,  whofe 
foundation  would  be  continually  changed  by  the  vari« 
ous  circumftances  and  iituatioris  of  life?  The  motives, 
which  'religion  prekmsj  are  abfoiute'y  different.  It 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  57 

is  not  by  confufed  contra(h,  that  it  directs  men  ;  it  is  a 
predominant  intereft  to  which  they  are  recalled.  Itis- 
round  a  beacon,  of  which  the  brilliant  flames  are  feen 
on  all  fides,  that  they  are  affembled.  In  fiiort,  the 
rules  which  it  prefcribes,  are  not  uncertain,  and  tha 
advantages  which  it  promtles,  do  not  admit  of  an  equiv- 
alent. 

Let  us  further  obferve  here,  that  felfifhnefs,  after 
ha'ving  compared  the  enjoyment  of  efleem  with  pleaf- 
ures  of  a  different  kind,  would  not  fail  to  reckon  the 
chances  which  afford  a  hope  of  im-pofing  orr  men  :  and- 
in  the  niidft  of  thefe  perplexed  calculations,  the  paflion 
of  the  moment  would  be  almoft  a'ways  victorious.  Be- 
fidesj  we  might  afk,  what  is  the  efleem  of  others,  to 
that  numerous  clafs,  which  mifery  makes  folitary  ? 
And  what  is  it  but  a  fentiment,  of  which  the  effect  is 
never  obvious,  to  thofe  whofe  views  are  limited  to  the 
prefent  day,  or  the  next,  becaufe  they  only  live  by  in- 
liantaneous  refources  ?  All  the  advantages  annexed  to 
reputation  are  promiffory  notes,  of  which  it  is  neceffary" 
to  be  able  to  wait  the  diflant  expiration.  Reflexion 
and  knowledge  only  acq»airvt  us  with  their  value  ;  and 
the  ignorance  of  the  greater  part  of  a  nation  would 
render  them  unequal  to  this  kind  of  combination. 

If,  then,  afcer  having  taken  a  view  of  tha  lowed,  I 
obferve  thofe  who  compofe  the  fuperior  clafs,  I  will 
venture  a  reflexion  of  a  very  different  kind  ;  that  in  a 
country,  where  we  have  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  moft 
fplendid  marks  of  diftinclton,  and  where  fame  has  pow- 
er to  raife  heroes,  great  minifters,  and  men  of  genius 
in  every  profeflion,  we  do  not  find  that  the  duties  of 
private  life  are  bei'l  known  and  the  moft  refpefted. 
Men,  uniting  to  celebrate  wfch  ardour  great  talents  and 
aHions,  confider  with  more  indifference  the  morals  and 
manners  of  individuals.  They  make  an  ideal  beauty, 
compofed  of  every  thing  which  contributes  to  the  ce- 
lebrity of  their  country  and  the  honour  of  their  nation. 
But  by  accuftoming  themfeives  to  refer  every  thing  to 
thefe  interetts,  they  become  extremely  negligent  with 
rpfpe£l  to  common  virtues,  and  fometimes  they  even 
decide,  that  the  rare  qualities  of  the  mind  may  abfo**- 
difpenfe  with  them,  Befides?  if  fame  can  fcrvc 

to 


£8         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF' 

to  reward  the  moft  afliduous  labour  and  painful  feif- 
denial,  it  is  far  from  being  neceffary,  that  moderate 
fentimems  of  efteem mould  indemnify  thofe  who  ob- 
tain them,  for  the  facrifice  of  their  pafTions.  It  does 
not  follow  that  this  frntimem  mould  give  them  flrength 
to  refift  the  multiplied  fedudions,  that  the  hopes  of 
ambition  and  the  chances  of  fortune  prefent  to  our 
view  :  and  this  consideration  acquires  more  force  in  a 
kingdom,  where,  among  the  diltinflions  of  which  the 
favour  of  the  prince  is  the  origin,  there  are  feme  which 
attracl  fo  much  homage,  that  they  referable  fame  itfelf. 

In  thort,  and  what  1  am  going  to  fay  comprehends, 
in  a  general  manner,  the  various  queflions  which  I  have 
juft  treated  :  the  efteem  of  men,  even  when  this  fenti- 
merit  feems  the  moft  foreign  to  religion,  receives,  nev- 
erthelefs,  from  thence  its  principal  lirength,  and  even 
origin.  It  is  a  reflection  of  great  importance,  and  of 
which  I  will  endeavour  to  demonftrate  the  truth. 

We  ought,  at  firft,  to  afk  what  is  the  original  prin- 
ciple of  fociety,  which  gives  weight  to  the  various 
expreffions  of  the  fentiment  of  efteem.  We  (hall 
find,  undoubtedly,  that  is  a  diftincl:  idea  of  the  duties 
of  men,  a  notion  of  good  morals,  as  general  as  firm.— 
Now,  the  duties  of  life  cannot  be  fulfilled,  without  the 
afliftance  of  religion  ;  fince  the  connexion  of  private 
and  public  intereft,  the  only  foundation  of  the  virtues 
of  our  framing,  is,  as  we  have  demonftrated,  an  im- 
perfect fyftem,  and  fufceptible  of  a  multitude  of  ex- 
ceptions, or  arbitrary  interpretations.  It  is  neceffary, 
then,  that  our  focial  obligations  mould  be  fixed  in  an 
authentic  manner,  if  we  wifh  that  our  judgment,  and 
the  fentiments  we  adopt,  fhould  be  a  real  indication  of 
the  relation  the  conduct  of  men  has  with  moral  per- 
fection. But,  if  this  perfection  were  only  determin- 
ed by  human  conventions—- if  it  were  defpoiled  of  the 
majefty  which  religion  inverts  it  with — reputation,  and 
fentiments  of  efteem^  which  aie  the  pledge  and  ftamp 
of  good  morals,  would  infenfible  lofe  their  value.  We 
ihould  then  recollect  that  coin,  which  fome  vainly 
wiflied  to  preferve  the  current  value  of  in  commerce, 
after  having  materially  altered  either  the  weight  or 

the 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  39 

the'flandard  :  and  in  effeft,  to  follow  the  fimile  a  mo- 
ment longer,  how  could  we  alter  the  eflence  of  morali* 
ty  more,  and  lefTen  the  refpeft  which  is  due  to  it,  than 
by  feparating  it  from  the  fublime  motives  which  reli- 
gion prefents,  to  unite  it  only  to  political  confidera- 
tions  ? 

One  objection  I  ought  to  obviate.  It  may  be  faidt 
perhaps,  that  the  influence  of  honour  in  the  army, 
feems  to  be  a  proof,  that  reputation,  without  the  aid 
of  any  other  impulfe,  wouid  have  fufficient  influence, 
to  direct  the  mind  to  the  end  which  we  propofe  to  our* 
felves.  This  objection  does  not  appear  to  me  decifive. 
Honour  in  armies  preferves  a  great  afcendency  ;  becaufe, 
among  men  thus  afiembled,  it  is  impodibie  to  efcape 
fhame,  and  the  punilhment  incurred  by  cowardice.— 
It  is  in  war  that  the  power  of  authority,  and  that  of 
fame,  unite  all  their  forces  ;  becaufe  they  exercife  their 
influence  on  men  engaged  in  one  action,  actuated  by 
the  fame  fpirit,  by  that  fingular  fubordination,  termed 
difcipline.  Thus,  when  in  the  commencement  of  the 
Roman  republic,  the  army  participated  more  of  the 
air  of  the  city,  and  was  not  yet  familiarized  to  the 
military  yoke,  it  was  then  only  through  the  fanflion 
of  an  oath,  fupported  by  religious  fentiments,  that  the 
general  contrived  to  prevent  the  inconftancy  and  de- 
fection of  thofe  who  followed  him  to  the  camp.— 
Whatever,  therefore,  may  be  at  prefent,  the  power  of 
honour  in  armies—whatever  at  prefent  may  be  its  in- 
fluence in  the  field  of  battle,  where  the  actors,  ipcfla- 
tors,  and  judges,  are  on  the  fame  ftage,  and  have  noth- 
ing elfe  to  do  but  to  practife,  remark,  and  praife  a 
particular  virtue — we  fhould  not  be  able  to  draw  any 
deduftion  from  it,  applicable  to  the  focial  relations, 
whole  extent  is  immenfe,  and  to  whofe  diverfity  there 
is  no  bound.  Befides,  military  honour  is  very  far 
from  being  foreign  to  the  general  principles  of  morali- 
ty, and  conlequeniiy  to  religious  opinions,  the  molt 
iolid  fupport  of  thofe  principles  ;  for  ientinients 
which  contain,  in  fome  manner,  the  idea  of  a  noble 
:;dcriHce,  would  lofo  a  conliderable  part  of  their  force,, 
if  the  great  bafis  of  our  duty  were  ever  fhaken. 

A 


ro         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  GF 

A  perfect  model  is  neceflary » to  fix  the  adtai ratio* 
•of  men  :  and  it  is  only  by  an  intercourfe  more  or  lefs 
•conftant  with  that  firft  model  that  feveral  opinions, 
vvhich  feem  in  appearance,  to  arife  merely  from  con- 
venience, have  confiftency.  / 

However,  there  has  refulted  from  our  warlike  cuf- 
toms,  an  opinion  purely  focial,  which  is  very  power- 
ful :  it  is  that  of  the  point  of  honour,  when  we  con- 
fider  it  in  its  fingular  and  fimple  acceptation,  when  a 
man  is  ready  to  facrifice  his  life  to  guard  himfelf  from 
the  flighted  humiliation.  This  opinion,  it  is  true,  only 
dictates  its  rules  upon  ecjuals :  and  the  exerciff  of  its 
authority  extends  to  an  inconfiderable  part  of  a  nation, 
which,  wholly  given  up  to  worldly  concerns,  are  occu- 
pied entirely  with  comparifons  and  difiinclions  :  it  is 
one  of  the  ancient  appendages  of  military  honour,  and 
in  uniting  ail  its  force  towards  a  fingle  idea,  it  is  be- 
come a  fimple  principle,  which  has  been  blindly  tranf- 
mitted  am!  as  blindly  refpefted. 

It  is  by  the  effecl  of  a  fimilar  habit,  that  favages 
affix  ail  their  glory  to  a  contempt  of  bodily  pain,  and 
to  demonfirations  of  gaiety,  in  the  midft  of  the  moft 
cruel  torments.  Can  we  doubt,  that  their  fupernaturaJ 
exultation  would  not  be  weakened,  at  the  very  inflant 
they  were  acquainted  with  our  moft  common  ideas  of 
virtue  ?  likewife  our  idea  of  honour,  which,  in  its  ex- 
'aggerateci  {late,  refembles  their  death  fongs,  would  not 
reiift  metaphyfical  arguments,  if  ever  metaphysics  be- 
rame  our  fole  guide  in  morality  :  for  after  having  an- 
alyzed the  motives  of  our  moft  important  obligations, 
\ve  {hould  analyze  alfo  our  fine-fpun  ientimem,  which 
makes  us  regardleis  of  danger.  Yes,  if  refpecl  for  re- 
ligion were  absolutely  deftroy^d — if  this  fimple  opin- 
ion, which  carries  with  it  fo  many  obligations,  and 
ferves  to  defend  fo  many  duties,  had  no  other  fupport 
• — the  idea  of  honour  would  foon  be  weakened  ;  and 
our  perlorial  intereft,  infenfibly  difengaged  from  ail  the 
des  of  the  imagination,  would  take  a  character  fo  rude, 
and  io  determir.ed,  that  our  habitual  impreffions,  and 
•our  relation  with  others,  would  be  absolutely  changed. 

Permit  .roe  then  to  make  another  reflexion — it  will 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  61 

l»e  always  eafy  to  fubjecl  men  to  a  governing  epinicn, 
when  they  themfelves,  and  thofe  who  gftvern  them, 
unite  all  their  efforts  to  attain  the  fame  end.  But,  if 
this  governing  opinion  be  not, like  religion,  the  general 
jifctnciple  of  our  conduit — if  it  cannot  give  us  laws  iu 
the  different  fituations  of  life — it  would  ferve  only  to 
throw  us  out  of  an  equilibrium,  or,  at  leaf},  its  utility 
v;ould  be  partial  and  momentary.  Neverthelefs,  if, 
with  a  delign  of  remedying  this  inconvenience,  we 
fearched  to  multiply  thefe  opinions,  they  would  weaken 
each  other  ;  for  every  time  we  wilh  ftrongly  to  reRrain 

'the  imaginaLion,  it  is  neceffary,  that  a  fingle  idea,  a  (in- 
gle authority,  a  fingle  objeft  of  intereft,  mould-engage 
the  attention  of  men.  Perfection,  in  this  refpect,  is 
the  choice  of  a  fingle  principle,  whofe  confequence ex- 
tends to  all  ;— and  fuch  is  the  particular  merit  of  relig- 
ious opinions. 

We  can  then,  in  the  name  of  feafon,  of  policy,  and 
philofophy,  demand  fome  refpeft  for  them.  And  T 
ought  to  repeat,  fince  it  is  time  for  me  to  refume  017 
Jubjecr,  that  eiteem  or  contempt,  honour  or  fhame,  arc 

To  far  from  being  able  to  fupply  the  pViCG  of  the  aclive 
influence  of  religion,  that  its  feiuinlcnts  confirm  the 
opinion  of  the  world,  2nd,  more  cr  lefs,  obvioufly  dt- 
reel  it.  It  follows,  that  we  mould  loon  reafon  flirewd- 
Jy5  on  the  value  which  we  ought  to  fet  on  the  efieern 
of  the 'world, ,  if  the  expreffion i  of  its  approbation  were 
r,ot  united,  in  our  contemplation,  to  fomething  mere 
noble  than  the  judgment  of  mankind,  and  if  an  awful 
refpeclfor  virtue  were  not  imbibed  by  means  of  a  re- 
ligious education.  We  mould  foori  experience,  that, 
in  wifhing  to-found  every  thing  on  the  calculations  of 
worldly  wifdoro,  thefe  lame  culcuiations  would  deflroy 
ali.^and  morality  havingat  once  loltits  grand  -fiippojf 
we  fliould  try  in  vain  to  prop  it  by  a  fcaffold  of  laws' 
and  the  va:n  efforts  of  an  opinion  without  a  guide* 
Hypocrify  and  difTimulation  would  become  immedil 
ately  a  neceffary  fcience,  a  legitimate  defence,  xvhicli 
would  weary  the  attention  of  every  infpector:  and  tei- 
of  eRcecn  appearing  only  ari  ingenious  encour- 
grantel  to  the  •  facrifices  of  felfiflinefs— the 


62         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

applaufe,  decreed  to  a  generous  mode  of  conducl,  would 
be  inienfibly  discredited  by  thofe  who  gave,  and  by 
thofe  who  received  them  ;  and  would  end,  perhaps,  in 
becoming  a  fecret  objecl  of  deriiion}  as  mere  play  from 
one  to  another. 

Every  thing  is  replaced  and  firmly  eflabliflied  by 
religion.  It  furrounds,  I  may  fay,  the  whole  fyftem 
of  morality,  refembling  that  univerfal  and  myflerious 
force  of  phyfical  nature,  which  retains  the  planets  in 
their  orbits,  and  fubjefls  them  to  a  regular  revolution  ; 
and  which,  in  the  midft  of  the  general  order  it  main, 
tains,  efcapes  the  obfervation  of  men,  and  appears  to 
tkeir  feeble  fight  unconfcious  of  its  own  work. 


CHAPTER     III. 


An  ObjeBion  drawn  from  our  natural 
fitions  to  Goodnefs. 


MEN,  according  to  the  opinion  of  fome,  have  re- 
ceived from  nature  a  fecret  tendency  towards 
every  thing  jult,  good,  and  virtuous :  and  from  this 
happy  inclination,  the  talk  of  the  moralift  is  confined 
to  prevent  the  alteration  of  our  original  conftitution  : 
an  eafy  lafk,  add  they,  and  which  may  be  fulfilled 
•without  any  extraordinary  effort,  and  without  having 
recourfe  to  religion. 

We  ought,  at  firft,  to  obferve,  that  the  exifience  cf 
this  excellent  innate  goodnefs  has  been  a  long  time  a 
fubjeft  of  debate  ;  as  every  afTerlion  always  will  be,  of 
•which  we  cannot  demonftrate  the  truth,  either  by  ar- 
gument or  experience.  We  thall  never  be  able  to  per- 
ceive diftinftly  the  natural  dii'pofitions  of  men,  fince, 
to  our  view,  they  are  never  ieparated  from  the  in> 
proycment,  or  the  modification,  which  they  owe  to 

education 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  63 

•jducation  and  habit.  One  or  two  examples  they  pro- 
dace  of  children,  arrived  at  maturity,  found  in  aforefh 
But  we  are  ignorant  at  what  precife  age  they  were 
abandoned  by  their  parents,  and  what  might  have  been 
their  difpofitions,  if,  brought  back  to  fociety,  they  had 
not  been  guided  by  inftruftion,  or  reftrained  by  fear 
Jind  fubordination.  It  is  not  very  probable,  that  man 
d-e rived  from  his  original  nature  all  the  difpofitions 
which  lead  to  goodnefs  :  fuch  a  thought  agrees  not 
with  his  pride  or  dignity  ;  fince  the  intellectual  facul- 
ties, with  which  he  is  endowed,  die  power  he  has  of 
gradually  tending  to  perfection,  announce  to  him,  thac 
he  ought  t'o  fulfil  his  career  with  the  a'liltance  of  rea- 
fon,  and  that,  veiy  different  from  thole  beings  govern- 
ed by  an  invariable  inilinft,  he  fhould  elevate  himfelf 
as  much  above  them,  by  cultivating  the  abilities  en- 
trufled  to  him,  as  by  the  grandeur  of  the  deliiny  to 
which  he  is  permitted  to  afpire. 

Reafon,  however,  our  faithful  guide,  would  be  In- 
fufficient  to  attach  us  to  fentiments  of  order,  juiiice? 
and  beneficence,  were  it  not  Seconded  by  a  nature 
proper  to  receive  the  imprtffiion  of  every  noble  fenti- 
ment.  But  fuch  reflexions,  far  from  favouring  any 
fyftem  of  independence  or  impiety,  receive  from  relig- 
ious opinions  their  principal  force.  What  is,  in  ef- 
feft,  in  tr.is  refpeft  the  courfe  of  our  thoughts?  W« 
attribute,  at  firtt,  to  a  Supreme  and  Univerfal  Being, 
all  the  perfections  which  fcem  to  conOuute  his  eflence  : 
and  from  this  principle  we  are- led  to  prefume,  that  we, 
his  intelligent  creatures,  and  his  moft  noble  work,  par- 
ticipate, in  fome  manner,  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  of 
which  we  are  an  emanation.  But  if  we  could  ever  be 
perfuadfd.  that  our  confidence  in  the  idea  of  a  God  is 
a  deceitful  illufion,  we  fliould  not  have  any  reafon  to 
believe,  that  the  mere  child  of  nature,  blind  and  with- 
out a  guide,  would  be  difpofed  to  good,  rather  than 
evil.  We  mutt  derive  our  opinion  of  innate  goodnefs 
from  a  fccret  fentiment,  and  from  a  perfeft  conviftion 
of  the  exiftence  of  a  power  which  keeps  every  thing 
in  order,  the  model  of  all  perfection.  But,  as  we  ob- 
tain equally  from  this  power,  the  faculties  which  ren- 
der 


6'4         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

•Izr  us  capable  of  acquiring  knowledge,  of  improving, 
by  experience,  of  extending. our  views  into  futurity, 
and  elevating  our  thoughts  to  God;  we  mould  no£ 
know  how  to  diltingu'dh  thefe  laft  expedients  of  abili- 
ty and  virtue  from  thofe  which  belong  to  our  firft  in- 
fiinft  :  and  we  have  no  intereft  in  doing  it. 

That,  which  we  perceive  moft  clearly,  is,  that  there 
is  a  correfpondence,  a   harmony  between  all  the  parts 
<>f  our  moral  nature  ;  and    therefore  we  cannot  deny 
the  exigence  of   our  nature!  inclination  towards  good- 
nefs,  riocconfider  this  inclination  as  adifpofition  which 
has  not   need   of  any  religious    lentiment   to  acquire 
ilrength,   and  become  a  rational  conduBnr  through  the 
jough  road  of  life.      The  production  of  iUutary- fruits 
requires,  before  all  things,  a  favourable  foil,     But  this 
aid  vantage  would  be  ufelefs  without  feed  and  the  labour 
of  thehuflbandman,  and  the  fertilizing   warmth  of  the 
iun.     The  Author  of  nature   has  thought  fit,  rhat  a 
great  number  of  caufes  Ciould    concur  continually  to 
renovate  the  productions  of    the  earth;  and  the  fame 
intention,    the    fame  plan,   fe^ms  to  have    determined 
the  principle   and  the  developement    of  all   the   gifts 
of  the  mind.     It  is   necelfary,  in  order  to  attach  in- 
telligent beings  to  the  love  of  virtue,  and    refpecl   for 
morality,  that  not  only  happy  natural  difpofitions,   but 
itill  more,  a  judicious  education,  good  laws,  and  above 
*;',  a  continual   intercourfe  with  the    Supreme    Being 
(from  which  alone  can  arife  firm  refolutions,  and  every 
ardent    thought)  fhould   concur  :   but  men,  ambitious 
of  fubmjtting  a  great  number  of  relations  to  their  weak 
comprehenfion,  would  wifh  to  confine  them  to  a   few 
caufes.     We  mall  difcover,   every  moment,  the  trutl* 
of  this  obfervation.     Acluatcd    by  a  limi'ar   motive, 
many  wifh  to  attribute  every  thing  to  education  ;  while 
others  pretend,,    that   our   natural  difpofuions  are  the 
only  fource  of  our  aftion*  and  intentions,  of  our  vices 
and  virtues.  Perhaps,  in  faft,  there  is,  in  the  univerfe, 
but  one  expedient  and  fpring,    one   prolific  idea,   the 
root  of  every  other  ;  yet,  as  it  is  at  the   origin  of  this, 
idea,  and  not  in  its  innumerable  developements,  that  its 
uaity  can  be  perceived,  the  firft  grand  Difpofer  of  na- 


RELIGIO0S  OPINIONS,  65 

tureonly  ought  to  be  in  pofTe(Tion  of  the  fecret  :  and 
we,  who  fee,  of  the  immenfe  mechanifm  of  the  world, 
but  a  few  wheels,  become  almoli  ridiculous,  when  we 
make  choice  fometimes  of  one,  and  fometimes  of  anoth- 
er, to  refer  to  it  exclufively,  the  caufe  of  motion,  and 
the  fimpleft  properties  of  the  different  parts  of  the  nat- 
Steal  or  moral  world. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


An  Objection  dr&wnfrom  the  good  conduct  of 
many  irrehgous  Men. 


YOU  may  think,  perhaps,  after  having  read  the 
preceding  chapter,  that  I  have  taken  little  room 
to  treat  aqueftion,  on  which  fo  much  has  bee  i  writ- 
ten :  but  if  it  be  allowed,  that  1  have  made  fome  ap- 
proaches to  truth,  I  (hall  not  need  any  excufe.  The 
refearches  after  truth  refemble  thofe  circles  which  we 
trace  (oinetimes  one  round  another  ;  thefurthelt  from 
the  center  has  neceflanly  the  greateft  extent. 

I  will  then  endeavour,  with  the  fame  brevity,  to  ex- 
amine the  objection,  which  is  to  make  the  fubjeft  of 
this  chapter. 

Society,  foms  fay,  is  at  prefent  full  of  perfons, 
who,  to  borrow  the  expreifion  of  the  times,  are  abfo- 
luteiy  difengage<I  fram  every  kind  of  prejudice — who 
believe  not  even  the  exiftence  of  a  Supreme  Being  ; 
and  yet,  their  conduct  appears  as  regular  as  that  of  the 
mod  religious  men.  . 

Before  replying  to  this  objection,  I  ought  to  make 
an  importpnt  obfervation.  The  detractors  of  a  relig- 
ious fpirit  habitually  confound,  in  their  difcourfe, 
flovotion  and  piety.  They  attribute,  befides,  to  de- 
an  exaggerated  fenfe,  which  its  natural  dcfini- 
E  ?.  tion 


65         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

tion  will  not  bear  ;  and  derive  from  this  mifconcep* 
tion  a  great  advantage.  Piety,  fimple  in  its  fenti- 
ments  and  deportment,  commonly  efcapes  the  heediefs. 
glance  of  a  man  of  the  world  :-  and  the  greater  part 
of  thofe  who  fpeak  of  it,  would  have  fome  difficulty  to 
delineate  it  well.  Devotion,  on  the  contrary,  fuch 
as  we  are  accuftomed  to  reprefent,  feenis  to  attach 
fome  value  to  appearances.  It  difplays  itfelf  :  it 
makes  a  parade  of  the  aufterity  of  its  principles  ;  and 
often,  fou red  by  the  facrifices,  or  the  conftraint,  which 
it  has  impofcd  on  itfelf  as  a  law,  it  contrafts  a  rough 
and  inflexible  fpiiit,  which  baniOies  fenfimcnr,  amia- 
ble and  indulgent.  In  (hort.  devotion  is  fometimes- 
•mixed  with  hypocrify  ;  and  then  it  is  only  a  defpica- 
ble  afiemblage  of  the  mod  contemptible  vices.  It  is 
cafy  to  judge,  from  thefe  tv/o  pictures,  that  judicious- 
piety,  ra?ional  and  indulgent,  forms  the  true  characler- 
iftic  of  a  religious  fpirit,  confidered  in  its  purity.  It 
is  then  with  morality,  infpired  b)  z  like  fpirit.  that  it 
is  neceffary  to  compare  thofe-  men,  who  are  guided" 
v>niy  Ly  the  principles  they  frame  to  themielves  :  and 
1  believe,  that  one  of  thefe  two  (yllems  of  morality  is- 
.far  fupcncr  to  the  oilier.  Bui  we  run  a  rifk  of  de- 
*  civn  g  ourfelves  in  car  oblervauonsr  when  we  clcx 
not  extend  them  beyond  the  narrow  circle,  known, 
among  u.»  by  the  name  uf-fictcty.  Men,  in  the  cir- 
cumfcnbed  relations  which  ariic  from  the  cummuni- 
oations  of  idienefs  and  diflipation,  require  of  each 
other,  on:y  qualities  applicable  to  this  kind  of  rela- 
tions, i'heir  code  of  laws  is  very  (hort.  Integrity 
in  the  commerce  of  life,  conliancy  in  friendflup,  or, 
at  leaft,  pohtenefs  in  their  iritercourfe,  a  kind  of  ele* 
vation  in  their  difcourle  and  manner — in  (horta  probi- 
ty is  the  grand  outline  :  and  this  is  ail  that  is  requir- 
ed, in  order  to  difpiay  ourfcives  to  the  bed  atlvaniage, 
in  the  muiit  of  tne  acLve  fcenes  which  lurround  us,, 
where  w.-  iometi=Jies,  form  a  confederacy  proper  to 
jferve  as  a  fupport  of  the  gtcat  virtues.  But  what 
ahey  wifh  for,  before  every  thing,  is,  a  grant  of  in- 
dulgence in  favour  of  vices,  which  do  not  d-.Ourb  ths 
*rder  or  the  peace  of  their  pleafures  ;.  and  which 

cnlv 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  67 

only  render  parents,  hufbands,  and !  creditors ,  yafTals, 
and  the  commonalty  unhappy .  F*r  diftant,  indeed, 
from  a  like  tolerance',  are  thofe  colle6tive  obligations 
which  morality  dictates — obligations  of  which  I  made 
a  concife  (ketch,  when  I  compared  them  with  thofe 
•which  are  impofed  by  civil  laws.  It  is  then  only, 
after  having  ourfclves  retraced  the  entire  fyflem  of 
our  duties — it  is  on'.y  after  having  compared  thena 
with  the  conventions  foftened  by  faflmwabie  fociety, 
that  we  are  in  a  {{ate  to  judge,  if  the  conduct  of  per- 
ibns,  difengaged  from  every  religious  tie,  ought  te 
be  given  as  an  example,  and  if  their  morality  can  fuf- 
fice  for  all  the  circumftances.  of  life; 

But  in  admitting,  for  a  moment,  this  fuppofitioi^ 
we  ftiould  not  have  a  ri^ht  to  dra.v  any  deduction- 
contrary  to  the  truths  which  I  have  endeavoured  to 
cilablifti  ;  for  ail  thofe  who  free  thernfelves  at  a  cer- 
tain age,  from  the  yoke  of  religion,  hare  been  at  leaft 
prepared  by  it  to  refpeclive  virtue.  Principles,  in. 
cii'cated  early  in  life,  have  a  great  influence  on  the 
human  heart,  a  long  time  even  after  our  underttandmg: 
has  rejected  the  reafoning  which  ferved  as  the  bafts  of 
thofe  principles.  i'hc  foul,  formed,  wnen  the  rea-fon 
begins  to  dawa,  to  the  love  of  order,  and  fuflamed  in 
this  d'fpofuion  by  the  force  of  habit,  never  entirety 
lofes  this  principle.  So  that,  whatever  be  the  opin- 
ions adopted  when  the  judgment  is  forrnedy  it  is  flow- 
ly.  aad  by  degrees,  tha-t  thefa  opiniona  aft  on  the 
character  and  direft  the  conduct.  Befides,  while  re- 
ligion maintains  among  the  greater  n.umber  of  men,  a 
profound  refpecl  for  morality — thoie,  who  re- 
ject thefe  fsnnrnents,  kaovv,  neverthelefs,  that  probi- 
ty leads  to.  elleem,  and  to  the  various  advantages 
which  dep-end  on  it.  Ofcourfe,  a  virtuous  atheift 
m2re  y  makes  us  recoiieB,  that  he  lives  where  virtue 
is  refpetbd  :  and  it  is  not  the  inciEcacy,  but,  on  ihe 
contrary,  the  indirect  influence  of  religious  opinions, 
which  his  conduct  detnonllrates  to  me.  I  think  I  fee, 
in  a  beautiful  p.ece  of  mechanifm,  a  frnall  part  broken 
©If  from  the  chain,  and  which  maintains  its  p. ace,  by 
,  *he  force  Hill  iubfiflmg  of  genet al  cauihbnuin, 

What ! 


08         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

What  !  would  you  have  need  of  religion  to  be  a»' 
Koneft  man  ?  Here  is  an  interrogative,  with  which 
they  hope  to  embarrafs  thofe  who  wifh  to  preferve  to 
morality  its  beft  fuppsrt  ;  and  the  dread,  that  fome 
have,  of  not  giving  an  honourable  idea  of  their  fenti- 
mems,  induces  them  to  reply  with  quicknefs,  that  cer- 
tain^ they  fhould  Rot  need  the  check  of  religion,  and 
thar  the  dictates  of  their  heart  would  always  be  fuf- 
ficient  to  3ireft  them.  This  anfwer  is  undoubtedly 
very  refpeftable.  But  for  my  part,  1  avow,  I  fhould 
merely  fay,  that  virtue  has  fo  many  charms,  when  ie 
has  been  a  long  time  praftifed,  that  a  truly  fcnfible 
man  would  continue  to  bejufl,  even  when  every  relig- 
ious fentiment  was  annihilated  ;  but  that  it  is  uncer* 
tain,  whether,  with  a  political  education,  his  princi- 
ples might  have  been  the  fame  :  and  I  fhould  add 
further,  that  no  one  perhaps,  could  be  certain,  that  he 
would  have  fuHicient  ftrength  to  refift  a  revolution  of 
ideas  fimilar  to  thofe  that  we  have  juft  fuppofed,  were 
he  to  fall  at  the  fame  time  into  a  flate  of  mifery  and 
dejeftion.  which  would  make  him  revolt  at  the  enjoy- 
ments and  the  triumphs  of  others;  It  is  always  in  a 
like  fituation,  that  it  is  neceffsry  to  place  ourfelvesj 
to  judge  properly  of  certain  queftions  >  for  all  thofea 
•who  enjoy  the  favours  of  fortune,  have,  in  confe- 
quence  of  this  fortunate  condition,  fewer  objefts  of  en- 
vy, and  are  left  fubjeci  to  temptations  :  and  in  the 
midft  of  the  different  comforts,  which  peaceably  fur- 
round  them,  it  is  riot  the  principles  of  others,  of 
which  they  know  the  want. 

As  for  philofophical  writers,  if  it  were  among  them,, 
tkat  we  are  to  fearch  for  the  principal  defenders  of  the 
new  opinions— and  if,  at  the  fame  time,  their  moral 
conducl  were  cited  as  an  exampie — we  fhould  have  to 
obferve,  that  a  retired  life,  love  of  ilucly.  and  a  con- 
ftint  habit  of  reflexion,  ought  to  fpread  a  kind  of 
calm  over  their  fentiments.  Befides,  delivered  up  to 
abftraction,  or  pre-occupied  by  general  ideas,  they 
know  not  all  the  paffions,  and  they  are  feldom  per- 
fonaliy  engaged  in  thofe  ardent  purfuits  which  Itimu- 
&te  fociety.  They  cannot  then  determine,  with  cer- 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  £3 

tscrnfy,  what   would    have  been    the   degree    of  their 
refitting  force,  if,  without   any  other  defenfive    arms, 
th'an  their   principles,  and  no  guide  but   convenience, 
they  "had  to  combat  againtt  the  allurements   of  fortune 
and  ambition,  which  p  re  lent  themfelves  in  every  Hep 
of  our  worldly  career.    '  They    have,  alfo,   like  ail  the 
inventors  and  the  propagators  of  a  new  fyftem.    vani- 
ty, which  engages"  rhsra  to    multiply   the  number    of 
their  difciples  :   and  how,  in  fa£t,  could   they  be  able 
-to  flatter  themfelves  with  any  fuccefs.,  if,  in  attacking 
tha  moll  refpeftable  opinions,  they  had  not  endeavour- 
ed to  prove  that  their  dotlrines  were  not  in  eppotition 
to  morality  ?      Beh'des.  it  is  very  neceiTary,  after  hav- 
ing filently  fapped   the    foundation    of  our-  dwelling, 
that  they  fupport  for   fome  time  the  edifice,    were  it, 
only  while  they  have  witlius  a  common  habiiation— 
were  it  only  during    the   interval  when  we    fliould  be 
able  to  judge  in  ther  prefence,  of  the  utility   of  their 
inftruclions.     In  mort.  very  often,  perhaps,  the  dupes 
of  iheir  own  heart,  they  have  been  induced  to  believe, 
that,  becaufe  they    were  at   the   fame  time  irreligious 
by  fyftem,  and  jull  by  charaQcr  and  habit,  religion  and 
virtue  have    not  a  necefifary  vision  ;  and  if  it  be  true, 
that  in  the  grand  ir.tereRs  of  life,    the   flightcft   doubi 
has  fome  influence  on  our  actions,  would  it  be  poflible, 
that  at  the  time  when  they  would  feek  to  {hake  relig- 
ious opinions,   even   when   they  are  ridiculed  in  con- 
verfation,  they  would  ftiil  endeavour  to  preferve  a  fe- 
cret  connexion  with  them,  by   the  propriety  of  their 
condisft  ?   It  is  thus,  that,  in  the  difputes  of  princes, 
or  in  the    quarrels    of  miniders,  the    members    of  the 
fame  family  have  fomstimes  the  art  ofdividing    them- 
felves, in  order,  at  all  events,  that  one  o(  their  friends 
fiiall  be  in  each  party. 

Thefe  different  reflexions  ought  neceffarily  to  be 
taken  into  conlideration,  before  we  give  ourfelves  up 
to  the  inferences  that  they  would  wi(h  to  draw  from 
the  manners  of  irreligious  men.  But,  to  difcredit 
their  arguments,  it  is  fufficient  to  obferve,  that  we  can- 
not make  any  application  of  them  to  the  muft  numer- 
»as  clafs  of  wen,  Honctt.^thaifts  Iwe  never  exifted, 

amon? 


iQ         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

among  the  commonalty  :  religion  comprehends  all  thei? •• 
knowledge  in  morality  :  and  if  once  they  were  to  lofs 
thjf  guide,    their  conduct  would  be  abfolutely  depend- 
ent on  chance  and  circumftances. 

It  i&flill  eflential  to  obferve,  that,  according  to  the 
motives  to  which  we  can  attribute  the  relaxation  of 
moral  principles,  there  exiUs  a  great  difference  between 
ihe  various  characters  which  attend  vicious  aclions. 
A  depraved  man,  though  religious,  does  wrong  by  acci- 
dene,  through  weaknefs,  and  according  to  the  (ucceilive 
tranfports  of  his  paffions.  But  the  wicked  atheift  has 
not  a  fixed  time  ;  opportunities  do  not  furprife  him  : 
he  fearches  for  them,  or  waits  fcr:  them  with  impa- 
tience. He  yields  not  through  the  contagion  of  imi- 
tation :  but  he  takes  pleafure  in  fetting  an  example, 
He  is  not  a  corrupt  fruit  ;  he  is  himielf  the  tree  of 
evil. 

Another  objection  is  raifed,  but  of  a  very  different 
kind.  They  point  out  the  contrail,  frequently  per- 
ceived, between  the  conduct  and  iHe  religions  fenti- 
snenti  of  the  greater  part  of  men  ;  an  oppofuion  from 
•which  they  would  wifh  to  conclude,  that  thcfe  fenti- 
ments  are  not  a  certain  fafeguard  ;  and  they  add,  to 
fupport  their  argument,  that  in  examining  the  belief  of 
all  thofe,  whofe  licentious  life  is  terminated  by  an  ig- 
nominious death,  we  perceive  that  the  greater  number- 
is  compofed  of  people  blindly  fubjecl  to  religious  opin- 
ions. 

Undoubtedly^  thefe  opinions  form  not,  at  all  times, 
a  complete  refinance  to  the  different  {tarts  of  our  jpaf- 
iions — but  it  fuffices,  that  they  may  be  the  moft  effica- 
cious. There  have  been,  and  there  ever  will  be,  vic- 
ious men  in  the  bolbm  of  fociety,  even  where  religion 
has  thegreateit  influence;  for  it  a&s  not  on  us  like  a 
mechanical  force,  by  weights,  levers,  and  fprings,  of 
which  we  can  calculate  exaftiy  the  power.  It  is  not 
an  arbitrary  modification  of  our  nature;  but  we  are 
enlightened,  guided,  and  animated,  according  to  our 
difpoiitions  and  fenfibility,  and  according  to  the  degree 
of  our  own  efforts  in  the  numerous  conflicts  which  «ve 
to  iuftain.  It  would  be  then  an  evident  piece 

of* 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS, 


of  treachery,  to  attack  religion,  by  drawing  a  pifture  of 
the  vices  and  crimes,  from  which  it  has  not  been  able 
io  guard  fociety,  inftead  of  fixing  our  attention  on  *U 
thediforders  which  it  checks  or  prevents. 

They  are  equally  wrong,  who  reprcfent  the  general 
!angour  of  religion,  as  a  proof  that  it  has,  in  our  time, 
very  little  influence  on  morality.  It  would  be  neceflary 
rather  to  remark,  how  great  muft  have  been  that  pow- 
er, which,  even  in  the  decline  of  its  force,  is  {till  fuffi- 
cient  to  concur  to  the  maintenance  of  public  order.  W« 
ihould  be  authorifed  to  fay,  how  valuable  is  the  whole, 
when  we  receive  fo  much  advantage  from  a  part  ? 

In  fhort,  the  confequence  that  they  would  wi(h  to 
draw  from  the  opinions,  and  from  the  faith  of  wretches 
finking  under  the  fword  of  juftice,  is  an  abufe  of  rea- 
foning,  Men  termed  religious,  forming  the  major  part 
of  the  populace,  we  muft  among  them  neceflarily  meet 
the  greater  number  of  malefaftors  ;  in  the  fame  manner 
that  we  are  Cure  to  find,  in  this  clafs,  more  men  of  a 
particular  age,  ftature,  or  complexion.  But,  if  they 
have  a  right  to  ufe  fuch  an  argument  to  cenfure  a  re- 
ligious education,  they  might,  with  the  fame  reafon, 
conteft  the  falubrity  of  breaft-rniik,  alleging,  that  many 
fick  and  dying  perfons  have  received  this  nourishment. 
We  (hould  never  confound  a  common  circumftance 
with  a  general  caufe  ;  th-:ie  are  two  ideas  abfclutely 


There  are  other  objeftions,  which  equally  deferre  to 
be  difcuffed  ;  but  they  will  find  a  place,  with  more 
propriety,  after  the  chapter,  where  I  fhall  examine, 
under  different  heads,  the  influence  of  religious  opt- 
ions on  our  happinefs.  You  have  feen,  and  you  will 
perceive  ftiii  more,  in  the  progrefs  of  this  work,  that 
I  do  not  endeavour  to  elude  difficulties  ;  for  before  I 
determined  to  defend,  according  to  my  abilities,  a  caufe 
which  I  could  wifh  tQ  render  dear  to  mankind,  I  care- 
fully dud  ied  the  means:  and  after  having  fortified 
myfelf  againft  the  fyflems  oppofite  to  my  fenumer.ts,  I 
fear  not  to  examine  the  motives  which  fcrve  to  fupport 
.them. 

CHAPTER 


OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  6F 

CHAPTER     Vx. 

influence  of  Religious  Principles  on  ciw 
Happinefs. 


S  we  have  fhown  the  clofe  connexion  of  morali- 
ty with  religious  opinions,  we  have  already 
pointed  out  the  principal  relation  of  thefe  opinions 
with. public  good  ;  fince  the  repofe  and  interior  iran- 
quility  of  fociefy  eiTemially  depend  on  the  maintenance 
of  civil  order,  and  the  exa8  obfervance  of  the  laws  of 
juftice.  But  a  great  part  of  human  happinefs  does 
not  arife  from  the  community  :  thus,  the  benefits  re- 
ligion imparts  would  be  very  imperfect,  if  they  were 
not  extended  to  our  moft  intimate  fentiments — if  they 
were  not  ufeful  in  thofe  fecret  conflicts  of  different  af- 
fetUons,  which  .agitate  our  fouls,  and  which  preoccupy 
our  thoughts.  Religion  is  very  far  from  deserving  this 
reproach.  That,  which  raifes  it  indeed  above  every 
kind  of  legiflaticn,  i«,  that  it  influences  equally  public 
good  and  private  happinefs.  We  ought  to  examine 
this  truth  :  but  to  do  it  philosophically,  we  muft  nec- 
effarily  contemplate,  and  pry  into  our  nature,  and  ex- 
amine, for  a  moment,  into  ihe  hrft  caufes  of  the  enjoy- 
ments or  the  anxieties  of  our  minds. 

Men,  when  they  have  advanced  a  few  fleps  in  the 
world,  and  as  fooa  as  their  intellectual  faculties  begin 
to  open,  extend  their  views,  and  live  in  the  future. 
Sensual  pleafuresand  bodily  pain  only  detain  them  in  the 
prefent.  But  in  the  long  intervals,  which  exift  be- 
tween the  renewal  of  thefe  fenfations,  it  is  by  antici- 
pation and  memory  that  they  are  happy  or  nniferaWe  : 
and  tecoileQ'on  is  only  interfiling,  as  it  is  perceived  to 
Jk«ep  up  the  connexion  between  the  palt  and  future. 
Undoubtedly,  the  influence  of  the  futuie,  on  allourmo*- 
often  cfcapes  our  notice,  I'o  cite  fome  ex- 
amples 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  73 

Smples  of  this  truth,  we  believe  that  only  the  prefcnt 
inoment  produces  happinefs,  when  we  receive  eulcgi- 
urns,  obtain  fome  mark  of  diftinftion,  or  are  /nformed 
6f  an  unexpected  augmentation  of  our  fortune;  and  * 
ftill  more,  when  we  arc  pleafed  with  the  fport  of  our 
imagination,  or  the  difcoveries  of  our  reafon  incur 
c'iofet  or  in  converfation.  Thefe  enjoyments,  and 
many  others  fimilar.  we  call  prefent  happinefs  ;  though 
there  is  not  any  one  of  them,  which  does  not  owe  us 
value,  and  even  reality,  to  the  fingle  idea  of  futurity* 
In  fact,  refpeft,  applaufe,  the  triumphs  of  ielf-lcve, 
the  fore-runners  oi"  fame,  and  even  fame  itfelf,  are  the 
acquifnions  which  education  and  habit  have  rendered 
precious,  ~in  exhibiting  always  beyond  them  fome  oth- 
er advantage,  of  which  .thefe  firft  were  only  the  fym- 
bo!s.  Often,  indeed,  the  laft  object  of  our  ambition  is 
but  an  enjoyment  of  opinion,  the  confufed  image  of 
fome  pofleHion  more  real.  Every  where  we  fee  vague 
hopes  hurry  away  our  imagination.  We  fee  the  ex- 
pected good,  the  immediate  end  of  our  meditation,  or 
the  obfcure  motive  of  the  eitimation  we  annex  to  the 
various  fatisfactions  of  which  our  prefent  happinefs  is 
compofed.  Thus,  indirectly,  and  alrhoft  unknown  to 
ourfelves,  all  is  in  perfpeclive  in  our  moral  exifience  : 
and  it  is  by  this  rcafoniiig  that,  always  deluded,  we  are 
i'eldom  perfectly  deceived.  Subje6ted  by  long  habij, 
it  is  in  vain  that  we  would  wilh  to  feparate  the  imagi- 
nary advantages  of  opinion  from  the  delulions  of  hope 
which  furround  them,  and  by  which  we  have  been  le- 
duced  ali  our  life. 

There  is  but  a  fmall  part  of  the  moral  fyftem,  whicfe 
we  cannot  mike  agree  with  this  manner  of  explaining 
the  principal  caule  of  our  pieafures  and  of  our  pains, 
1  am  very  far,  however,  from  wifcing  to  make  the 
fentimcnts,  which  unite  men  by  the  charm  of  friend- 
fnip,  depend  on  the  fame  principle  ;  and  which  have, 
fucli  a  i  effential  influence  on  their  happinefs.  AH  is 
real  in  thefe  affections  ;  fince  they  are  a  funple  affoci- 
ation  of  ourfeive3  to  others,  and  them  to  us  :  in  (his 
view  it  may  be  confidcrea  a<;,  in  feme  meafure,  pro- 
ionging  our  tr.vn  eniftencfr  :  but  this  divifion,  fo  inti* 
C^  mate 


74          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

mate  of  the  good  and  ev il  cf  life,  does  not  deflrcy  their 
ciTence.  Friendship  doubles  our  pleafures  ai;d  our 
comforts  :  and  it  is  by  the  clofe  alliance  of  two  (ymp- 
athizing  fcu!s;  that  \ve  are  fortified  again!!  ail  events. 
But  it  is  always  with  the  fame  paUiens  lhat  it  is  necci- 
iary  to  combat  ;  thus,  whcthei  we  remain  folitary.  oar 
live  in  others,  the  future  prefervcs  ils  influence  over 
us. 

Jf  fuch  he,  however,  our  moral  nature,  that  the  ob- 
je£l  of  our  wifhes  will  always  be  at  feme  diflancc — if 
our  thoughts,  like  the  courfe  of  the  waves,  be  ever 
aftive,  and  prefTing  forward — if  our  preient  enjoy- 
ments have  a  fecret  tic  with  the  imaginary  advantages 
of  opinion,  of  which  the  lail  term  is  Hill  a  fleeting 
ftadow — in  fhort^  if  all  be  future  in  the  fate  of  man  ; 
with  what  intereir,  with  what  love,  with  what  refpefr, 
ought  we  not  to  conlider  this  beautiful  fyflem  of  hope, 
of  which  religious  opinions  are  the  majeflic  founda- 
tion ?  What  encouragement  they  prefent  !  What  an ' 
end  lo  all  other  ends  !  \Vhat  a  grand  and  precious 
idea,  by  its  connexion  with  the  moil  intimate  and  ge- 
neral fentiment,  the  defire  of  prolonging  ourexiftence! 
That,  which  men  dread  moft,  is  the  image  of  an  eter- 
3ial  annihilation,  The  abfolute  deftru&ion  of  all  the 
faculties  which  compofe  their  being,  is  for  them  the 
downfall  of  the  whole  ur.iverfe  :  and  they  are  anxious 
to  feek  for  a  refuge  againfl  this  overwhelming  thought. 

Undoubtedly,  it  is  according  to  nature,  according  to 
ihe  degree  of  itrength  of  their  religious  opinions,  that 
men  feize.,  with  more  or  lefs  confidence,  the 
Lopes  which  they  give,  and  the  recompense  they 
promife.  But  doubt  and  obfcurity  have  a  powerful 
a&ion,  while  fupreme  happinefs  is  the  objcft ;  fcrevcn 
in  the  affairs  of  this  life,  the  grandeur  of  the  prize,  of- 
fered to  our  ambition,  excites  ilill  more  our  ardour, 
than  the  probability  offuccefs.  But  where  fhould  we 
fix — where  attach  the  flighted  hope — if  even  the  idea 
of  a  God,  this  firft  prop  of  religion,  were  ever  cieflroy- 
cd — if,  from  the  infancy  of  men.  we  did  not  p;cier,t 
to  their  reflexion,  that  worldly  confederations  are  as 
HanfienUs  themfelvsr— a;id  if,  early  in  life,  tr.oy  were 


OPINIONS.  75 

:'.  h-nbbd  in  their  own  eyes-— if  men  applied  ih  cm  (elves 
to  itiile  the  internal  fentiments,  which  inform  them  of 
the  fpintuality  of  their  fouls?  Difcouraged  in  this 
manner  by  thefirft  principles  of  their  education,  lUes- 
?ned  in  all  i'ne  movements  which  carry  their  reflexions 
into  futurity,  they  wonld  often  take  retrofp^.clive 
views.  The  pad  recalling  an  irreparable  lofs,  would 
foo  much  captivate  their  attention:  and1  their  minds, 
in  the  midfl  cf  lime,  would  no  more  be  in  a  neceflary 
equilibrium  to  enjoy  the  prefent  moment.  In  fliort, 
this  moment,  which  is  not,  in  reality,  but  an  imper- 
ceptible fraction,  would  appear  ali-.ioll  nothing  to  our 
eyes,  if  it  were  not  united  in  our  contemplations,  to 
'  the  unknown  number  of  days  and  vcars  which  are  be- 
fore us.  U  is  then,  becaufe  there  jj  nothing  lirsuedl 
in  the  idea  of  happi'nefs  and  duration,  with  which  re- 
ligious fentiments  imprefs  us,  that  onr  imagination  ir 
not  forced  to  recoil  on  itfelf,  when  it  is  inieuGbly  icft 
in  the  imnaenfity  of  futurity. 

When,  in  following  the  c.nirfe  of  a  noble  river,  a 
vaft  horizon  is  p  re  fen  ted  to  o:.$r  vie,1/,  we  turn  not  our 
obfervation  on  the  fandy  banks  we  are  coaihng.  But 
if,  changing  our  fuuation,  or  twilight  narrowing  this 
horizon,  our  attention  were  turned  on  the  barren  flat 
we  are  near  ;  then  only  we  fhould  remark  all  its  dry- 
nefs  and  fteriluy.  It  is  the  farrsein-the  career  of  life. 
When  the  grand  ideas  of  infinity  elevate  our  thoughts 
and  our  hopes,  we  are  lefs  afFecled  by  the  wearineis 
and  difficulties  ilrewedin  our  path.  But  if,  char 
our  principles,  a  gloomy  philofophy  were  to  oblcut« 
our  perfpcftive,  our  whole  attention  being  drawn  back 
on  the  furroundiQg  obje£ts,  we  (hould  then  very  dif- 
tinclly  difcover  the  void'and  iliuGonof  the  fatisfaclion:i 
of  which  our  moral  nature  is  fufceptible. 

Let  us  recollect,  then,  all  the  happinefs  which  we 
owe  to  religious  ientiments  and  obvious  reflection*, 
which,  in  attracting  us  continually  towards  the  future, 
feem- willing  to  five  from  the  prefent  moment  the  pur- 
eft  part  of  ourieives ;  thefe  are,  without  our  perceiv-  * 
ing  it,  the  enchantments  of  the  moral  world.  If  it 
T-ere  poiUbie  that,  by  cold  reafoning,  we  at  length  de- 

itroyed 


76         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

ftroyed  them,  a  ftrong  melancholy  would  ally  itfeif  10- 
mofl  of  our  reflexions  :  and  it  would  feern  as  if  a  wind- 
ing-fheet  had  taken  place  of  that  tranfparent  veil, 
through  which  the  profpecls  of  life  arc  embelliflied. 
Undoubtedly  there  would  be  flill  fome  charm  in  the 
cbys  of  youth,  when  the  pleafures  of  the  fenfes  prefs 
on  us,  and  fill  a  confiderabie  time:  but  when  (he  paf- 
fions  are  tempered  by  age — when  our  firength  has 
fceen  broken  by  years,  or  prematurely  attacked  by 
ficknefs — in  fhort,  when  the  time  is  arrived,  in  which. 
*ner,  are  conftrained  to  feek,  in  the  principles  of  mo- 
rality, the  chief  fupporl  of  their  happinefs — what. 
would  b°co:ne  of  them,  if  ihofe  hopf%  and  opinions 
were  diffipated,  which  afford  folid  comfort  and  encour- 
agement :  and  if  an  imagination,  thus  aclive,  were 
weakened,  which  enlivens  ail  the  objeds  that  antici- 
pation can  reach  ? 

Refleft,  (hen,  with  attention,  on  the  different  con- 
fequences  which- would  be  the  fatal  train  of  the  anni- 
hilation of  religious  opinions.  It  is  not  a  fingle  idea, 
a  fingle  view,  that  men  would  lofe  :  it  would  be,  be- 
fides,  the  intereft  and  charm  of  all  their  defires  and 
ambition.  There  is  nothing  indifferent,  when  our  ac- 
tions and  cefigns  can  be  in  any  refpeCt  attached  to  a. 
duty.  There  is  nothing  indifferent,  when  the  ex- 
ercife  and  the  improvement  of  our  faculties  appear 
xhe  commencement  of  an  exiflence,  whofe  termination 
is  unknown  :  but,  when  this  period  offers  itfelf  on  all 
(ides  to  our  view — when  we  approach  it  every  mo- 
ment, what  ftrong  illufion  would  be  fufficient  to  de- 
fend us  from  a  fad  defpondency  ?  Striclly  circumfcrib- 
ed  in  the  fpace  of  life,  its  limits  would  be  in  fuch  a 
oianner  prefent  to  our  mind,  to  every  fentiment  and 
enterprise,  perhaps,  that  we  fhould  be  tempted  to  ex- 
amine what  it  is,  that  can  merit,  on  our  part,  an  afli- 
duous  refearch — what  it  is  that  deferves  clofe  and 
painful  application.  Indeed,  fame  itfelf,  which  is 
called  immortal,  would  no  more  hurry  us  on  in  the 
fame  manner,  if  we  had  a  fecret  conviction,  that  can- 
not grow,  rife,  fubfift,  but  in  fuch  portions  of  fpace, 
and  fuch  durations  of  time,  as  our  imagination  cannot 
Conceive.  It  is  icceffary,  that  the  uncertain  future 
7  bo 


RELIGIOCS  OPINIONS.  77 

l)&  flill  our  country,  in  order  that  we  fliould  be  able  to 
feel  that  unquiet  love  of  a  long  celebrity,  and  thofe 
ardent  impulfes  towards  great  things,  which  are  the 
falutary  effeft  of  it. 

We  deceive  ourfelves,  then,  I  think,  when  we  ac- 
cufe  religion  of  neceffarily  rendering  the  bufinefs  and 
Jhe  pleafures  of  the  world  uninterefling.  Its  chief 
pleafures,  on  the  contrary,  are  derived  from  religion — 
from  thofe  ideas  of  eternity,  which  it  prefents  to  our 
mind,  which  ferve  to  fuftain  the  enchantments  of  hope, 
and  the  fenfe  of  thofe  duties,  of  which  our  moral  na- 
ture is  ingenioufly  compofed. 

Religious  opinions  are  perfectly  adapted  to  our  na- 
ture, to  our  weakneffes  and  perfections.  They  conic 
to  our  fuccour  in  our  real  difficulties,  and  in  thole 
which  the  abufe  of  our  forefight  creates.  But  in  v/nat 
is  grand  and  elevated  in  our  nature,  it  lympuhizet 
molt:  for,  if  men  be  animated  by  noble  thoughts — if 
ihey  refpecVthcir  intelligence,  thsir  chief  ornament — 
if  they  be  interefted  about  the  dignity  of  their  nature, 
they  will  fly,  with  tranfport,  to  bow  before  religion, 
which  ennobles  their  faculties,  preserves  their  ftrengtii 
r>f  mind,  and  which,  through  its  fentivnents,  unites 
them  to  him,  whofe  power  aftoniihes  their  undei  [land- 
ing. It  i.s  then  that,  confidering  thernfdves  as  an 
emanation  of  the  Infinite  Being,  the  commencement 
of  all  things,  they  will  not  let  themfelves  be  drawn 
afide  by  a  philofophy,  whofe  fai  lefTons  tend  to  per- 
fuade  us,  that  reafon,  liberty,  all  this  immaterial  of- 
fence of  ourfelves,  is  the  mere  refult  of  a  fortuitous 
combination,  and  an  harmony  without  intelligence. 

We  have  never,  perhaps,  obfervcci,  with  fufficient 
attention,  the  different  kinds  of  happinefs  which  would 
be  deftroyed,  or  at  leaft  fenQbly  weakened,  if  this  du- 
coura^ing  doQrine  were  ever  propagated-. 

What  would  then  become  of  the  moll  fublime  of  all 
fentiments,  that  of  admiration,  if,  inllead  of  the  grand 
view  of  the  univerfe,  far  from  reviving  the  idea  of  a 
Supreme  Being,  we  retraced  only  a  vatt  exigence,  but 
v/itiioutdefign,  caufe,  or  de(linatio:i — and  if  the  aft  on - 
ilhment  of  our  minds  were  itfelf  butane  of  the  fpon- 
caneous  accidents  of  blind  matter  ? 

(I  o 


78          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

What  would  become  of  the  pleafure  which  we  findf 
in  the  deveiopement,  exercife,  and  progrefs  of  OUF 
faculties,  if  this  intelligence,  of  which  we  love  to  glo- 
ry, were  only  the  refult  of  chance — and  if  all  our  ideas 
were  but  a  mere  obedience  to  the  eternal  law  of  mo- 
tion— if  our  liberty  were  but  a  fiction — and  if  we  had 
not,  if  1  may  fay  fo,  any  pofleffion  of  ourfelves  ? 

What  would  become,  then,  of  that  aftive  fpirit  of 
curiofity,  whofe  charm  excites  us  to  obferve  continu- 
ally the  wonders  with  which  we  are  furrounded,  and 
which  infpires,  at  the  fame  time,  the  clefire  of  pene- 
trating, in  feme  meafure,  into  the  myftery  of  our  ex- 
iftence,  and  the  fecret  of  our  origin  ?  Certainly,  it 
would  little  avail  us  to  lludy  the  courfe  of  nature,  i£ 
this  fcience  could  only  teach  us  to  comprehend  the  af- 
flicting particulars  of  our  mechanical  flavery  :  a  prif- 
oner  cannot  be  pleafed  to  draw  the  form  of  his  fetters, 
qt  reckon  the  links  of  his  chains. 

But  how  beautiful  is  the  world>  when  it  is  repre- 
fentcd  to  us  as  the  refult  of  a  {ingle  and  grand  thought 
••— and  when  we  find,  every  where,  (he  {lamp  of  an 
eternal  intelligence  !  and  how  pleafing  to  live  with 
the  fentiments  of  ailonifhrnent  and  adoraiion  deeply 
imprefFed  on  ot;r  hearts  I 

But  what  a  fubjeft  of  glory  are  the  endowments  o£ 
«he  mind,  when  we  can  confider  them  as  a  participa- 
tion of  a  fublime  nature,  of  which  God  alone  is  the 
perfect  model.  And  how  delightful,  then,  to  yield  to 
the  ambition  of  elevating  ourielves  ihll  more,  by  cx- 
crcifing  our  thoughts  and  improving  all  our  faculties. 

In  Ihort,  how  many  charms  has  the  obfcrvation  of 
nature,  when,  at  every  new  difcovery,  we  believe  we 
advance  a  ftcp  towatds  an  acquaintance  with  that  ex-r 
alted  wiltiom,  which  has  preicribed  laws  to  the  uni- 
verfe,  and  maintains  it  in  harmony  !  It  is  then,  and 
only  then,  that  the  fludy  is  truly  intercfting,  and  the 
progrefs  of  knowledge  becomes  an  increafe  of  happi- 
nefs.  Yes,  under  the  influence  of  opinions,  ariling 
from  the  notions  of  materialilh — ali  is  languifhirig  in 
our  curiofny — all  is  mere  intlinft  in  our  admiration — 
all  K  httinous  in  (he  ieotiments  which  we  have  of 

ourfclves : 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  ^ 

©urfelves:  but  with  the  idea  of  a  God,  all  is  lively, 
all  is  reafonable  and  true.  In  ftiort,  this  happy  and 
prolific  idea  appears  as  neceffary  to  the  moral  nature? 
of  man,  as  heal  is  to  plants,  and  to  all  the  vegetable 
world. 

You  may  think,  perhaps,  that  in  examining  the  in- 
fluence of  religion  on  happinefs,  I  havedwelton  feve- 
ral  confiderations,  which  are  not  of  equal  importance 
to  all  men  :  there  arc  indeed,  fome  more  particularly 
adapted  to  that  part  of  fociety,  whole  minds  are  im- 
proved by  education  ;  but  I  am  very  far  from  wifh- 
ing  to  divert  a  moment  my  attention  from  the  numer- 
ous clafs  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  whofe  happi- 
nefs and  mifery  arifes  frcm  a  fimple  idea,,  proportion- 
ed to  the  extent  of  their  intereits  arid  reflections, 

Thole,  who  ieem  to  have  a  more  prefling  and  con- 
fhnt  need  of  the  afliftance  of  religion,  have  been  left, 
oy  the  misfortunes  of  their  parents,  to  the  wide  world, 
devoid  of  property,  and  deprived  alfo  of  thofe  re- 
fources  which  depend  on  education.  This  clafs  o£ 
men,  condemned  to  hard  labour,  are.  as  it  were,  con- 
fined in  a  nr:gh  and  uniformly  barren  path,  where 
every  day  refembles  the  laft,  where  they  have  not  any 
confuted  expectations,  or  flattering  illufion  to  divert 
them.  They  know  that  there  is  a  wall  of  feparatio» 
between  them  and  fortune:  and  if  they  carrried  their 
views  in  life  forward,  they  would  only  diicover  the- 
greadfui  flaie  any  inHrmity  would  reduce  them  to—- 
and the  deplorable  (ituation  to  which  they  might  be 
expofed,  by  the  cruel  negleft  which  attends  o'd  age. 
With  what  tranfport,  in  this  fituation,  would  they 
not  catch  at  the  comfortable  hopes  which  religion  pre- 
i-jnis  !  With  what  fatisfadion  wouid  they  not  learn, 
that  after  this  probationary  ftate,  where  fo  much  dif- 
proportion  overwhelms  them,  there  would  come  a 
time  of  equality  I  What  would  be  their  complaints, 
if  they  were  to  renounce  a  fentiment  which  ilill  con- 
forms itfelf  for  their  advantage,  to  a  general  idea,  the 
only  one,  in  ihort,  of  which  they  car.  make  ufe  in  all 
events  and  circunallances  of  life.  «'  It  is  God's  will," 
they  fay  to  ttiemfelves,  and  this  fir  ft  thought  fupports 

the  if 


So         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

their  refignatton,  <{  God  will  recompenfe  you,  GoJ 
will  return  it  to  you,"  fay  they  to  others,  when  they 
receive  alms  :  and  thefe  words  remind  tJiem,  that  the 
God  of  the  rich  and  powerful  is  alfo  theirs;  and 
that,  far  from  being  indifferent  to  their  fate,  he  deigns 
himfelf  to  difcharge  their  obligations. 

How  many  other  popular  expreffions  continually 
recal  the  fame  fentiment  of  confidence  and  confola- 
tion  !  It  is  this  continual  relation  of  the  poor  with 
the  Deity,  which  raifes  them  in  their  own  eyes,  and 
which  prevents  their  {inking  under  the  weight  of  con- 
tempt, with  which  they  are  oppreffed,  and  gives  them 
fometimes  courage  to  refift  the  pride  of  earthly  great- 
refs.  What  grander  effecl  could  be  produced  by  a» 
idea  fo  fimple  ?  Thus,  among  the  different  things 
which  charafterife  religion,  I  remark,  above  all,  what 
feems  more  particularly  the  fealofa  divine  hand  :  it 
is,  that  the  moral  advantages,  of  which  religion  is  the 
fource,  refembling  the  grand  blefiings  of  nature,  be- 
long equally  to  ali  men  :  and,  as  the  fun  in  thediftri- 
butionof  its  rays,  oblerves  neither  rank  norfortune  ;  fo9 
in  the  fame  way,  thofe  comforting  fentiments,  which 
are  connected  with  the  conception  of  a  Supreme  Be- 
ing, and  the  hopes  united  to  it,  become  the  property 
of  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich — of  the  weak  as  well  as 
the  powerful  ;  and  can  be  as  fecurely  enjoyed  undsr 
the  lowly  roof  of  a  cottage,  as  in  a  fuperb  palace.  It 
is  civil  laws,  which  increafe,  or  give  a  fanftion  to  the  in- 
equality of  pofieffions  :  and  it  is  religion  which  fwecu 
sns  the  bitternefs  of  this  hard  difproportion. 

We  could  not  avoid  feeling  a  cornpaflion,  as  painful  ar 
well  founded,  if,  in  confidering  attentively  the  fate  of 
the  greater  number  of  men,  we  fuppofed  them  all  at  one 
ilroke  deprived  of  the  only  thought  which  fupported 
their  courage.  They  would  no  more  have  a  God  to 
confide  their  forrows  with.  They  would  no  more  at- 
tend his  ordinances,  to  fearch  for  the  fentiments  of  re- 
fignation  and  tranquility.  They  would  have  no  mo- 
tive for  raifing  their  looks  to  heaven.  Their  eyes 
would  be  caft  down,  fixed  forever  on  this  abode  of 
grief,  of  death,  and  eternal  filence,  Then  defpair 

would 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,,  8* 

would  even  Ilitle  their  groans  :  and  all  their  reflexions 
preying  on  themfelires,  would  only  ferve  to  corrode 
their  hearts  :  then  thole  tears,  which  they  haveafatis- 
faftion  in  (hedding,  and  which  are  attracted  by  the 
tender  perfuafion,  that  there  exifts  fome  where  com- 
miferation  and  goodnefs— thefe  confoling  tears  would- 
no  more  moiflen  their  eyes. 

Who  has  not  ieen,  fooietirnes,  thofe  veteran  fol- 
diers,  who  are  proflrate  here  and  there  on  the  pave- 
ment of  a  fanftuary,  erecled  in  the  miJit  of  their  au- 
giift  retreat  ?  Their  hair,  which  time  has  whitened — 
iheir  forehead  marked  with  honourable  fears — that- 
tp tiering  ftep^.  which  age  only  could  imprefs  on  them, 
all  inlpire  at  firil  refpeci  ;  but  by  what  fenuments  are 
we  not  affected,  when  we  fee  them  lift  up  and  join 
with  difficulty  their  weak  haadsj  to  invoke  the  God 
of  the  univerfe,  of  their  heart  and  mind — when  we 
lee  them  forger,  in  this  interefting  devotion,  their 
prefent  pains  and  paii  griefs — when  we  fee  them 
rife  with  a  countenance  more  ferene,  and  expref- 
fivc  of  the  tranquility  and  hope  which  devotion 
has  infufed  thro'  their  fouls.  Complain  not  in  thofe 
moments,  you,  who  judge  of  the  happinefs  of  this 
world  only  from  its  enjoyments*  Thoir  looks  are* 
humbled,  their  body  trembles,  and  death  awaits  their 
ileps.  But  this  inevitable  end,  whofe  image  only* 
terrifies  us,  they  fee  coming  without  alarm.  They,- 
through  religion,  have  approached  him  who  is  good—- 
who can  da  every  thing— whom  none  ever  loved  with- 
out receiving  comfort.  Come,  and  contemplate  this 
light,  you  whodefpjfs  religion — you  wtu  term  your- 
felvcs  fuperior  to  it.  Com*,  and  fee  the  real  value  of 
your  pretended  knowledge  in  promoting  happinefs,. 
Change  the  fate  of  men,  and  give  them  all,  if  you  can, 
fome  portion  of  the  enjoyments  of  life  ;  or  refpeci  a 
fentiment  which  ferves  them  to  repulfe  the  injuries  of 
fortune  :  and  fince  even  the  policy  of  tyrants  has 
never  dared  to  deftroy  it — fiuce  their  power  would  be 
inefficient  to  enable  them  to  fucceed  in  the  favage  at- 
tempt,— you,  to  whom  nature  has  given  fuperior  en- 
dowments, be  nut  more  cruel,  more  inexorable  than 
Or  if,  by  a  pitilefs  doctrine,  you  wifii  to  de- 
prive 


Sz         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

prive  the  old,  the  fick,  and  the  indigent,  of  the  only 
idea  of  liappinefs  which  they  can  apply  to,  go  from 
prifon  to  pnfon,  and  to  thole  dreary  ceils,  where  the 
wretched  priloners  ftruggle  with  their  chains  ;  and 
fhut  with  your  own  hands,  if  you  have  the  heart  to  do 
it,  the  only  aperture  through  which  any  ray  of  light- 
can  reach  them. 

It  is  nor,  however,  a  (ingle  clafs  of  fociety,  which 
derives  an  habitual  a  fii  fiance  from  religion  ;  it  is  all 
thofe  who  have  to  complain  of  the  abufe  of  authority, 
of  public  injuftice,  and  the  different  viciflitudes  of 
their  fate  ;  it  is  the  innocent  man  who-  is  condemned 
— the  virtuous  man  who  is  flandered — the  man  who 
has  once  afted  incontinently,  and  been  cenfured  with 
too  much  rigour — all  thofe,  in  fhort,  who,  convinced 
of  the  purity  of  their  own  confcience,  leek,  above  all, 
for  a  fecret  witnefs  of  their  intentions  and  an  enlight- 
ened judge  of  their  conducl. 

A  man  of  an  exalted  character,  endowed  with  fen- 
fibility  of  heart,  experiences  alfo  the  neceffity  of  form- 
ing to  himfelf  an  image  of  an  unknown  Being,  to 
which  he  can  unite  ali  the  ideas  of  perfe£Hon  which 
fill  his  imagination.  It  is  to  him  that  he  refers  thofe 
different  lentiments,  which  are  ufelefs  amidft  the  cor- 
ruptions which  furround  him.  It  is  in  Gcd  alone, 
that  he  can  find  an  inexhauttible  fubjeft  ofafionifh- 
inent  and  adoration  :  and  with  him  alone  can  he  re- 
new and  purify  his  lentiments,  when  he  is  wearied  with 
the  fight  of  the  vices  of  the  world,  and  the  habitual 
return  of  the  fame  paffions.  In  (hort,  at  every  in- 
ilant,  the  happy  idea  of  a  God  foftens  and  embellilh- 
es  our  path  through  life  ;  by  it  we  aflociate  ourfelves 
with  delight  to  all  the  beauties  of  nature  :  by  it  every 
thing  animated  enters  into  communication  with  us.— 
Yes,  the  noifj  of  the  wind,  the  murmurs  of  the  water, 
the  peaceable  agitation  of  plants,  all.  ferve  to  fupport, 
or  melt  our  fouls,  provided  that  our  thoughts  can  rile 
to  an  Universal  caufe — provided  we  candifcover  every 
where  the  works  of  him  whom  we  love — provided  we 
can  diftinguilh  the  veftiges  of  his  footfteps  and  the 
iraces  of  his  intentions — a:id  above  all,  if  we  can  fup- 
pofej  that  we  curfeives  contribute  to  the  difpiay  of  his 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  *3 

power,  and  the    fplendor  of    his  goodnefs. 

But  it  is  principally  over  the, enjoyments  of  friend- 
Ihip  that  piety  fpreads  a  new  charrn.  Bounds,  limits, 
cannot  agree  with  a  fentiment  which  is  as  infinite  as 
thought  :  it  would  not  fubfift,  at  lead  would  be  troub- 
led with  continual  anxiety.  We  fhould  not  confider 
without  terror  the  revolution  of  years,  and  the  rapid 
courfe  to  time,  if  thofe  benevolent  opinions,  which 
enlarge  for  us  the  future,  did  not  come  to  our  afhll- 
ance.  Thus,  when  we  hud  ourfelves  feparated  frcnj 
the  objects  of  our  affetUon,  lonely  meditations  bring 
them  back,  to  aid  the  general  idea  of  happinefs,  which, 
more  or  lefs,  diftinftly  terminates  our  view  :  then  the 
tender  melancholy,  in  which  one  is  loft,  is  changed 
into  pleating  emotions  ;  and  you  have,  above  all,  need 
of  thofe  precious  opinions,  you.  who,  timid  in  a  bull- 
ling  world,  or  discouraged  by  difappointments,  find 
yourfelf  a  folitary  wanderer  on  the  earth,  be.caufe  you 
partake  not  of  the  paffions  which  agitate  the  greater 
part  of  mankind  !  You  want  a  friend,  and  you  only 
iee  pecuniary  affociations.  You  want  a  comforter  ; 
awd  you  only  fee  the  ambitious,  Grangers  to  all  thofe 
who  have  not  power  or  a  diliinguifhed  reputation.  A 
tender  conhdant  is  at  leafl  neceffary  ;  and  the  aOive 
fcenes  of  lociety  difperfc  the  affections,  and  diminifii 
every  intereft.  Jn  ;en  you  have  this  friend, 

this  confidant,  this  comforter — when  you  have  acquir- 
ed him  by  the  moil  tend-er  union-— when  you  jive  in  a 
fon,  a  hufband,  or  a  cherifhed  wife — what  other  idea 
but  that  of  a  God,  can  come  to  your  relief,  when  the 
frightful  image  of  a  feparation  prefents  itfelf  to  your 
thoughts  ?  J  t  is,  indeed,  in  fuch  moments,  that  we  em- 
brace with  transport  all  thofe  opinions,  which  tend  to 
fofter  the  idea  of  continuity  and  duration.  How  gladly, 
then,  we  lend  an  ear  to  thofe  words  of  comfort  which 
.arc  fo  perfectly  confonant  with  the  denies  and  (he 
wants  of  our  foul  !  What  ailociation  of  ideas  fo 
frightful,  as  that  of  the  eternal  annihilation  of  life  and 
love  ?  How  can  we  unite  to  that  loft  divifion  of  in- 
tcrefls  and  of  fentitnents,  to  that  charm  of  our  days — 
how  can  we  unite  to  fo  much  of  exigence  and  happi- 
nefs. the  internal  perfuafion  aud  habitual  image  of  a 


dcatk 


84         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

death  without  hope,  a  deftruftion  without  return  ? 
How  can  we  offer  only  the  idea  of  oblivion  to  thofe 
affectionate  minds,  who  have  centred  all  their  felf-love, 
all  their  ambition,  in  the  objeft  of  their  efteem  and 
fendernefs ;  and  who,  afier  having  renounced  them- 
fclves,  are.  as  it  were,  depofited  entirely  in  the  bofom 
of  another,  to  fubfiil  there  by  the  fame  breath  of  life 
and  the  lame  deliiny  ?  In  fhort,  near  the  tomb,  which, 
perhaps,  they  will  one  day  bedew  witb  their  tears, 
how  can  they  pronounce  the  overwhelming  w^ords, 
*;  forever  ! — forever!" — Oh  !  horrors  of  horrors,  both 
for  the  mind  and  feelings  !  and  if  it  be  neceffary,  that 
the  contemplations  of  a  man  of  feeling  approach  for 
a  moment  to  the  frightful  confines,  let  a  benevolent 
cloud  at  leaft  cover  the  dark  abyfs  !  Tears  and  for- 
row  ilill  afford  feme  comfort,  when  we  give  them  to 
*  beloved  (hade — when  we  can  mix  with  our  griefs 
the  name  of  a  God — and  when  this  name  appears  to 
you  the  cement  of  all  nature.  But  if  in  the  univerie 
all  were  deaf  to  our  voice — if  no  echoes  were  to  re- 
peat our  plaints — if  the  {hades  of  eternal  darknefs  had 
hid  from  us  the  objeft  of  our  love — and  if  they  were 
advancing  to  drag  us  into  the  lame  night — if  he  be  the 
mod  unhappy  being,  who  furvives,  and  cannot  even 
hope,  that  what  death  has  fevered  'will  again  be  unit- 
ed— if,  when  his  whole  foul  was  filled  with  the  recol- 
lection of  a  loved  object,  he  could  not  fay  :  "  He  is  in 
*••  iome  place  ;  his  heart  fo  affectionate,  his  foul  fo  pure 
6"  and  heavenly  waits  for  me,  and  calls  me,  perhaps,  to 
"  be  near  that  unknown  Beincr.  whom  we  have,  with 
"common  confent,  adored  ;"  and  if.  inflead  of  a  thought 
fo  dear,  it  were  neceflary,  without  any  doubt,  to  confi- 
der  the  earth  as  a  fepulchre  for  ever  {hut — my  heart 
dies  within  me.  Unable  to  contend  with  the  dreadful 
images  the  univerfe  itlelf  fecms  to  dilfolvc,  and  over- 
whelm us  in  its  downfall,  O  icurce  of  fa  many  hopes, 
fwblinie  idea  of  a  God  !  abandon  not  the  man  who  has 
feniibility.  Thou  art  his  courage — ihou  art  his  futuri- 
ty— thoa  art  his  life  ;  leave  him  not  deloia'e  ;  and 
above  all,  defend  him  from  i  he  afccncency  of  a  bar- 
ren and  fatal  philoiophy,  which  would  afflict  his  heart 
b)1  pretending  tocomfcrt  it. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  85 

Well,  I  make  another  effort  ;  and  I  adclrefs  myfelf 
¥o  you,  who  bouil  of  being  enlightened  by  a  frefh  ray 
«f  wifdom.  I  am  loft  in  the  moft  profound  grief,  A 
father,  a  mother,  who  guided  me  by  their  counfels, 
and  watched  over  me  by  their  tendernefs — thefe  pro- 
te&ing  parents  have  juft  been  taken  from  me:  a  fon, 
a  daughter,  both  my  comfort  and  pride,  have  been  cut 
off  in  the  prime  of  youih  :  a  faithful  companion,  whoftt 
words,  fentiments,  and  atlions,  were  the  fupport  of  my 
life,  has  vanifhed  from  my  arms.  A  moment  of  ftrcngth 
remains  with  me.  I  come  to  you,  ye  philofophers  ; 
what  ha*re  you  to  fay  ? — f<  Stek  lor  dijupationi  Turn 
w  your  thoughts  to  fome  other  objeft.  An  abyfs  not 
*'  to  be  fathomed  feparates  thee  forever  from  the  ob- 
'•*  jecls  of  thy  tenderuefs  :  and  thefe  recollections, 
*J  which  pierce  thee  through,  with  fo  many  forrows,. 
'"  are  only  a  form  of  vegetation,  the  laft  play  of  orga- 
"6i  nized  matter.'*  A!as  i  have  you  ever  loved,  and 
'can  you  pronounce,  tranquilly,  thefe  cruel  words  ! 
Bamfh  far  from  me  fuch  confolations.  1  dread  them 
more  than  my  anguitii.  And  thou,  O  daughter  of 
'heaven,  lovely  and  mild  religion,  \vhat  would  ft  thou 
4ay  ?  "  Hope,  hope  ;  what  God  gave  t!*se — he  can 
again  reftore,"  What  a  difference  betweep,  ihefe  two 
replies !  One  abafes,  the  other  exalts  us  !  It  is  left  to 
men  to  chooie,  among  their  different  guides,  or  rather 
to  determine,  whether "tlicy  prefer  darkncfs  to  lisjht, 
death  fo  life — whether  they  prefer  blighting  winds  to 
refr-eChing  dews — the  fro  its  of  winter,  to  the  charms  of 
ipring— and  the  infenfible  flonc,  10  the  moft  brilliant 
gifts  of  animated  nature. 

\  will  fay  it— the  world,  without  the  idea  of  a  Gcd, 
would  be  only  a  clefert,  en-bellifhed  by  a  few  cMufions, 
Yet  nun,  d. Enchanted  by  the  light  of  reaibn,  would 
iiiul  no:!iin;;,  throughout,  but  fnbjefts  of  fadnefs.  I 
have  fecn  them,  the  dreams  of  ambition,  the  allure- 
ments of  fame,  and  the  vain  i'hows  of  grandeur;  and 
even  when  the  illufion  was  moil  dazxlinp,  my  heart  ai- 
%vays  retired  into  itfelf.  and  was  attracted  "to  an  idea 
more  grand,  to  a  confolaiion  more  iubiiantial.  I  have 
experienced,  that  the  idea  of  the  exiftcnce  of  a  Su- 
preme 


36         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

preme  Being  threw  a  charm  over  every  a  re  urn  fiance 
of  life.  1  have  found,  that  this  ftntiment  alcne  was 
able  to  infpire  men  with  true  dignity  :  for  every 
thing,  which  is  merely  perforal,  is  of  little  value— -all 
that  places  feme  an  inch  high  above  others.  It  is  nee- 
eiTary,  in  order  to  have  any  reafon  to  glory  s  that,  a,t 
the  iame  time  we  exalt  ourfelves,  we  elevate  human 
nature.  We.muft  refer  it  to  that  fublime intelligence, 
which  feerm  to  have  dignified  it  with  fome  of  its  at- 
iributes.  We  then  hardly  perceive  thofe  trivial  dif- 
linftions,  which  are  attached  to  tranfitory  things,  on 
•which  vanity  exercifes  her  fway.  It  is  then  that  we 
leave  to  this  queen  of  the  world  her  rattle  and 
toys,  and  that  we  fearch  elfewhere  another  portion.  It 
js  then,  alfo,  that  virtue,  exalted  fentiments,  and  grand 
•views,  appear  the  only  glory  of  which  man  ought  tp 
Ibe  jealous. 


CHAPTER     VI. 


The  fame  fulj  eft  continued.     The  influence  of 
Virtue  en  Happinefs. 


IT  is  not  fufficient.to  have  demonfirated,  that  religr 
ion,  fo  neceflary  to  feeling  minds,  agrees  perfectly 
•*vith  the  moral  nature  of  men.  It  is  iliil  necelfary  to 
obferve,  that  the  habitual  exercife  of  virtue,  enjoined 
as  a  duty  in  the  name  of  God,  is  not  in  oppofnion 
with  happinefs :  and  after  having  confidered  a  truth  fo 
important,  I  will  prove,  that  it  is  not  contrary  to  what 
has  been  laid  in  the  firtt  chapttr  of  this  work,  on  the 
impoflibility  of  making  men  attentive  to  public  order, 
jTierely  by  the  motive  of  porfonal  intereft. 

We  cannot  deny,  that  virtue  often  obliges   us  to 


&ELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  g; 

-conquer  our  appetites  and  firuggle  with  our  pafTions. 
But  if  thefe  conflicts,  and  the  viftory  which  attends 
them,  lead  to  more  folid  and  durable  fatisfa6lions,  than 
thofe  of  which  foily  and  vice  portray  the  image,  they 
would  mifconceive  the  reftriftions  of  morality,  who 
perpetually  united  the  idea  of  felf -denial  with  thai  pf 
a  facrifice. 

We  cannot  fix  our  attention  on  the  various  objecls 
of  defire  which  occupy  the  thoughts  of  men,  without 
feeing  clearly,  that  if  they  abandoned  themfelves,  un- 
redrained,  to  all  their  wild  propenfities,  they  would 
often  ft  ray  far  from  ;ne  (hue  of  happiriefs  which  forms 
the.  objeft  of  their  wifhes.  Any  of  the  ble  flings  flrewecl 
here  and  there  in  our  path  cannot  fill  the  void  of  life. 
Are  they  the  gratifications  of  the  fenfes  which  cap?i- 
vate  us  ?  Their  duration'  ijr  determined  by  our  weak- 
nefs :  and  we  cannot  break  loofe  from  the  immutable 
limits  oppofed  by  nature.  Arc  they  the  advantages 
dependent  on  opinion,  that  we  iook  for,  inch  as  hon- 
our  and  praife  ;  or  the  exterior  fplendor,  which  for- 
tune gives  ?  You  will  foon  perceive,  that  quickly  af- 
ter they  are  obtained,  the  charm  is  flown.  They  re- 
femble  Proteus  in  the  fable,  who  only  appeared  a  God 
at  a  diftance.  Men  then  have  more  nerd  than  is  fup- 
pofed.  of  an  interefl  independent  of  their  fenfes  and 
imagination  :  and  this  intereft  we  find  in  the  duties 
morality  inculcates  and  eflablifhes. 

In  all  times,  in  all  circumftances,  we  have  a  choice 
between  good  and  evil  :  thus,  virtue  may  be  continu- 
ally in  a  Hate  of  aftiori ;  and  we  may  find  the  applica- 
tion of  it  even  in  the  moil  apparently  indifferent  rela- 
tions of  life  ;  becaufe  virtue  only  has  the  privilege  of 
connecting  little  things  to  a  great  object;  and  becaufe 
it  can  only  be  encouraged  by  confcience,  which,  in 
accompanying  all  our  actions  and  meditations,  feems 
to  augment  our  exiflence,  and  procure  thofe  fatisfac- 
tions  which  are  not  known  to  the  crowd,  who  do  not 
a£l  from  principle. 

Senfual  pleasures,  the  defires  of  vanity,  the  long- 
ings  of  ambition,  would  foon  extinguish  themfe'ves, 
were  they  not  fed  by  the  continual  activity  of  fociety, 

wbifrfe 


SB         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  Oi< 

v;h:ch  produces  new  fcenes.  ana  difp'ays  evc-ry  mo 
ment  forne  changes  of  decoration.  Virtue,  fatisfiest 
"».vith  its  view:,,  has  not  need  of  a  fuccefHon  of  fimila* 
tlefircs.  Its  paths  are  varied  ;  but  the  end  is  ever  ihs 
fame. 

We  cannot  fearch  for  the  enjoyments  of  life  in  the 
imaginary  advantages  of  opinion,  without  allowing 
ethers  t:>  conftruft  the  lav.  s  on  which  our  happinefs  is, 
founded  •  and  of  courfe  difcord  mud  refult.  which 
ic;ivcs  us  a  prev  to  every  kind  of  emotion.  Virtus 
lias  not  any  2iTociates  in  her  counfcls  ;  fhe  judges  her- 
ielf  of  all  fhat  is  good.  And  in  this  refpe6l,  a  virtu*. 
«us  man  is  the  molt  independent  of  all  beings  :  for  it 
.is  from  himfelf  a'one,  tha>  he  receives  coni/nands,  and 
expects  approbation.  Yes,  the  obfcure  man,  who 
«ioes  good  in  fecret,  is  more  mailer  of  his  delliny,  than 
the  being  ever  will  be,  who  {eems  loaded  with  all  the 
favours  of  fortune,  and  has  need,  that  fafliion  and 
iranfient  gratifications  come  to  determine  his  talie,  and 
jive  laws  to  his  vanity,  io  enable  him  to  enjoy  them. 
The  little  paflions  of  the  world,  trying  to  render 
tis  happy,  leaa  us  on  from  one  illufion  to  another  :  and 
the  tail  boundary  always  appears  at  a  diflance.  Vir- 
tue, very  different,  has  its  recprnpenfes  within  itfelf* 
It  is  not  in  events  nor  in  uncertain  fuccefs,  that  it 
places  contentment.  It  is  even  in  our  refolution,  io 
the  calmnefs  which  accompanies  it,  and  the  fecret  fen^ 
•timent  which  precedes  it. 

Recollection  ever  compofe.<  the  principal  happincl^ 
of  virtue:  while  worldly  vanity  is  tormented  by  the 
.remembrance  of  what  is  gone  forever  ;  and  with  re- 
gard to  the  palHons  in  general,  the  pad  is  but  3  gloomy 
fiiadow,  out  of  which  proceed,  from  lime  to  time,  for- 
rowand  remorfe, 

The  intervals  which  occur  between  the  flarts  of 
violent  paflions,  arc  almoft  always  filled  by  fadnefc 
and  apathy.  We  all  know,  according  to  the  laws  of 
nature,  that  lively  and  ardent  fenfations  produce  lan- 
guor the  moment  the  tumult  is  over.  Virtue,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  thofe  plealures  peculiar  to  itfelf,  know? 
nothing  of  thofe  irregular  emotions  :  bcqauie  alt  itj 

principles 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  $9 

principles  are  firm,  and  it  afts  round  its  own  centre  ; 
befides,  it  alfo  invites  us  continually  to  fet  a  juft  value 
on  that  happinefs  which  is  mod  proper  for  us.  It 
dilates  its  nrft  laws  in  the  bofom  of  domeftic  life,  and 
employs  all  its  (Irength  to  fuftain,  by  the  ties  of  duty, 
our  moll  rational  and  firp.pls  afFeftions. 

Virtue,  which  is  the  offspring  of  religion,  is  of  the 
greatefl.  ufe  in  delivering  men  from  the  tormenting  fo- 
licitude  of  doubt,  by  prefenting  a  general  fyitem  ot 
conduft  ;  and  abo-/e  a'l,  by  marking  fixed  points  to 
direft  them,  by  telling  them  whit  to  love,  choofe,  and 
do.  Thus,  while  men,  carried  away  by  their  imagina- 
tion, continually  allow  that  they  are  deceived  by 
phantoms,  and  lend  the  mod  glowing  colours  to  thole 
•which  have  juft  efcaped  them,  virtue  fets  no  VAJUC  bti; 
on  what  it  poflefTes,  and  knows  not  regret.  If  would 
fecm,  at  the  firft  glance,  that  the  defires  and  caprices 
of  the  imagination  cannot  agree  with  any  kind  of  re- 
ftrainL  However  it  is  not  Icfs  true,  that  thefs  trif- 
ling forerunners  of  our  will  have  need  of  a  guide,  and 
often  of  a  malbr.  Oir  firft  indications  and  fenti- 
ments  are  frequently  uncertain,  weak  and  wavering  : 
it  is  of  confequence  to  our  happtnefs,  that  this  tremb* 
ling  (talk  fiiould  be  fixed  and  fupported  :  and  fucli  is 
the  fervice  virtue  renders  to  the  human  mind. 

We  fee  not  any  uniformity  in  ths  condu&  of  thofc 
who  are  not  influenced  by  motives  of  duty.  They 
have  too  many  things  to  regulate,  too  many  to  decide 
about  every  inflant,  wluu  convenience  is  their  onir 
guide*  To  (imp! i fy  the  management  of  ourieives,  we 
ihould  fubmit  to  the  government  of  a  principle  whicb. 
may  be  eafily  applied  to  null  of  our  deliberations. 

In  fliort,  virtue  has  this  great  advantage,  that  it  find*? 
its  happinefs  in  a  kini  of  refpecl  for  the  rights  and 
claims  of  the  different  members  of  the  community, 
and  that  all  its  fentim-nts  ieem  to  unite  thernfelves  to 
the  general  harmony.  The  padlons,  on  the  contrary, 
are  almolt  always  hoftile.  The  vain  man  deft  res 
that  others  (liould  grace  his  -  triumphs  :  the  proui 
wiQics  them  to  feel  their  inferiority  ;  the  ambitious, 
thii  th.'y  keep  clzar  of  his  p-trfait  ,  the  imperious, 
*H  2  that 


»>o          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

diat  they  bend  to  him.  It  is  the  fame  of  the  different 
competi'ions,  'which  an  exceflive  love  of  praife,  higl* 
reputation,  or  fortune,  gives  birth  to.  In  the  path 
they  choofe,  every  one  would  wifh  to  go  alone,  or  ad- 
vance before  all  the  reft  :  and,  occupied  about  their 
*own  incerelr,  they  clafti  inconsiderately  with  thofe  of 
others.  Virtue,  very  different  in  following  its  courfe, 
fears  neither  rivals  nor  competitors.  It  does  not  jof- 
tle  with  any  one  :  the  road  is  fpacious  :  and  aii  msjr 
\valk  at  their  cafe.  It  is  an  orderly  aliance,  of  vvbicji 
morality  is  the  knot,  drawing  together  by  the  fame 
motives  and  hopes  held  in  common,  that  chain  of  du- 
vies  and  ientiments  which  unite  the  virtues  of.  men  it 
ihe  idea!  model  of  al!  perfection. 

Virtue,  which  guards  us  from  the  fnares  of  our 
fenie^a  end  checks  our  blind  deiires,  is,  befidss,  the 
•bafis  of  the  in  oft  precious  wifdom.  But  it  is  not  tbf 
intereil  of  a  day,  or  the  pfeafutcs  of  a  moment,  that  it 
ptoMfclsi  it  is  the  whole  of  iifc,  that  it  takes  under  I1-.- 
iuperimeiirlency.  It  is,  to  {peak  metaphorically,  :'rz. 
vindicator  of  futuruy.  the  rc-prefcnta::ve  of  duration, 
and  becomes,  to  the  feelings,  what  forefight  is  ID  the 
ro'nd.  We  muli  then,  with  rsfpccl  to  private  man- 
ncrs,  con fider virtue  as  E  prudent  fjiend.  uiughi  by  the 
e.xperience  of  all  ages,  \vhodirc6ts  our  f.!cp<,  and  never 
less  the  flambeau  waver,  v/hofe  falutary  light  ought 
to  guide  them.  Our  tumultuous  paftions  difpute  the 
honour  of  partaking  the  government.  It  h  necefTarv 
a  mailer  ihould  afngn  to  each  us  proper  limits— one 
v/ho  can  keep  in  peace  ail  thcfe  petty  domeflic  ty- 
rants ;  which  reminds  us  of  the  image  of  Ulyffes.  ar- 
riving fuddenly  in  che-midO  of  the  hundred  kings  wh« 
had  taken  pofleflion  cf  his  palace. 

Virtue,  fome  will  fay,  fcvere  in  i:s  j':dgcnen(s,  and 
aulterc  in  its  forms,  wcuid  it  not  deprive  us  of  the 
greatetl  happinefs,  the  pleafure  of  being  beloved  F — • 
1  reply,  that  virtue  in  its  moil  improved  ilate,  has  nor 
ihis  character.  1  reprefent  it  to  inyfclf  as  a  jufl  fent- 
imentof  order;  far  from  ban  idling  all  other  com- 
forts, ic  leads  to  them.  Thus,  benevolence  and  for- 
bearance, vhich  agree  fo  well  with  hum  a-;;  vreakntfs — 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  91 

die  foe ia!  fpirir,  Co  confident  with  our  nature— -ur- 
Banity  in  difcourfe  and  manner — that  amiable  expreff- 
ioti  of  a  heart,  which  feeks- to  unite  itfelf  with  others 
— all  thafe  qualities,  very  far  from  being  ftrangers  (• 
virtue,  are  us  attendants,  and  brighteft  ornaments. 

Virtue  allies  itfelf  to  alt  the  ideas  which  can  give  ex- 
tent to  our  mind,  and  early  in  life  accuftoms  us  to  dif- 
cern  relations,  and  to  facrifice  frequently  our  prefent 
affections  to  diftant  confederations.  It  is,  of  ail  our 
fentiments,  that  which  carries  us  farlhed  out  of  our- 
iclvcs,  and  confeqiientiy  has  the  nearelt  refemblance 
wit!)  ab(lra£}  thinking,  it  is  then,  through  the  a  (lift - 
aiice  of  virtue,  that  a  man. acquires  all  ins  knowledge  of 
his  {Irength  and  all  his  grandeur.  Vice-,  on  the 
Contrary,  concentres  us  in  a  littie  fpace.  It  feems 
to  be  confcious  of  its  own  deformity.,  anct  fears 
all  that  iurrounds  it.  It  endeavours  to  fix  on  a  fin- 
^Ic  objsft,  on  a  (ingle  moment,  and  would  wifh  to 
have  ptower  tu  dra:,v  into  a  point  our  whole  exift- 
ence. 

It  muft  ftiil  add  tlut  virtue,  by  uniiirig  a  motive  te 
ir  atUons,  antl  by  directing  towards  an  end  all  our 
ibnIicoet)iS,  habituates  our  mind  to  order, .and  juflneis 
i.»f  conception  ;  and  preven-ts  our  wandering  in  too 
«jreat  a  fpace.  Thus  I  have  often  thought,  that  it 
was  not  only  by.  his  vice?,  that. an  immoral  man  is  dan- 
gerous in  the  adminiitration  of  public  affairs.  We 
ought  to  fear  him  alfoas  unabieJoconiprehend  a  whcla, 
and  for  his  want  of  capacity  to  rally  all  his  thoughts 
and  direct  them  towards  any  general,  principle,  live* 
ry  kind  of  harmony  is  unknown  to  him, .every  rule  is 
become  a  burden  ;  he  is  buiy  but  only  by  Harts  ;  and 
it  is  by  accident  that  a  man  always  veriatile,  llurubies 
Ou  what  is  right. 

y  then  fruiy  be  faid,  that  morality  ferves  e» 
ba'.lait  to  oar  fenfiments :  its  aid  enables  us  to  go  on 
without  being  agitated  continually  by  the  caprices  of 
o'jr  imagination,  without  being  obliged  to  turn  back 
at  the  lirtt  appsarance  of  an  obltacie/ 

Vj.rfjc  then  c;:lar^es  th^  mind,,  gives  dignity  to  the 


^teftt 

9*-         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

charaBer    and   irivefts  it  with  every  thing  becoming, 
J  all  the  qualities  of  men,  the  moft   rare,    the  moft 
apt  to  create  refpea,  is,  that  elevation  of  thouaht  fem- 
iraent,  and  manners  ;  that  majeftic  cqnfiflenc?  of cha- 
raaer  which  truth  alone  can  prefer*,   but  which  the 
leaft  exaggeration,  the  moft   trivial   affeftation,  would 
difconcert  or  banifh.     This  refembles  not    pride,  and 
fill  left  vanity  ;  a.  one  of  its  ornaments  is,  that  ft  nev- 
er feeks  for  the  homage  of  others.     The  man,  endow- 
ed  with  real  dignity,  is  placed  above  even  his  judges, 
^e  accounts  not  with  them  :   he  lives  under  the  j&v- 
er?meHt  °/ his  cor'fcience  ;  and  pro'jd  of  fuch  a  nobler 
Uer,  he  does  not  wiffi  for  any  other  dependence    But 
as  this  grandeur  is  entirely  within  himfelf,  it  ceafes  to 
exilt,  when  he  diaates  to  others  what  he  expefts  from 
them,     It  can  only  be  reftrained  in   its  juft  limits  by 
virtues,  which  do  not  pretend  to  dazzle. 

It  is  to  the  fame  principle,  that  men  owe  that  noble 
'eipea  for  virtue,    the  moft  graceful   ornament    of    a 
great  foul.     They   owe  to   it    alfo   that   fimplicity  iu 
thinking  and  fpeaking,    that  happy  habit   of  a  confci- 
*nce  not  m  want  of  being  on  its  guard.     A  man  truly 
soneft  confiders  difguife  as  a  detraQor,    and  defires  to 
appear  as  he  really  is.     It  is  not  bis  interefts    to  con- 
EeaJ  his  weakneffes  ;   for  in  a  generous  heart  they  are 
almoft  always  united  to  fomething  good  :  and  perhaps 
irankncfs  would  have  become  the  policy  of  his  mind, 
if  it  had  not  been  one  of  the  qualities  of  his -charaQer- 
Ihere  ,s,Mn  every  virtue,  z  kind  of  beauty  which* 
charms  us  without   reflexion:  our  moral  fenfe,    when 
it  is  improved  by  education,    is  pleafed    with   that  fo- 
cial  harmony  winch  the  fentimentsof  juftice  preierve. 
i  hefe  enjoyments  are  unknown  to  men,  whoie  fclfifli- 
tcfs  renders  them  infem'ible  to  every  kind  of  concord  • 
and  they  appear  to  me  to  deferve  our  contcopt  in  one 
liential  point.     It  is,  that  they  profit  by   the  refpea 
hers  have  for  order,  without  being  willing  to  fubiea. 
themfelves  to  the  fame  rules,    and   withou?  declaring 
ibhcly  their  intention.     It  feems  to  me,  that  in  this 
iew,  a  defecl  of  morality  is  indeed   a  breach  of  the 
**ws  of  hofpitalify.. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  93 

In  fliort.  talents,  thofc  faculties  of  the  mind  which 
belong  more  immediately  to  nar.ure,  can  never  be  ap» 
piiecl  to  great  things  without  the  aid  of  morality  ;  there 
is  no  other  way  of  uniting  the  intereft  of  men,  and  of 
anatning  their  love  and  refpett.  flonetty  refembles 
the  ancient  idioms,  according  to  -which  you  mutt  knov; 
how  to  fpeak,  when  you  wifh  to  be  underflood  by  the 
Generality  :  an'i  a  language  is  never  well  known,  ln:J 
by  conftunt  practice.  The  imderflarjdmg  is  lometrmej 
fufficient  to  acquire  an  afcendency  in  circumscribed 
relations.  You  there  take  men  one  by  one  ;  and  yoj 
often  engage  them  by  proportioning  yuurfclf  to  their 
tiepih.  Baton  a  vaft  theatre,  ana  principally  m  pub- 
l;c  adroinifltatipn)  where  we  have  need  of  capfivatin;* 
ineu  in  a  body,  it  is  neceGTary  to  fearc'a  for  a  band 
which  will  embrace  all  ;  and  it  is  only  by  a  union  of 
talents  and  virtue,  that  this  chain  canbe  formed.  And 
when  I  fee  the  homage  paid  by  a  nation  to  virtuous 
eha-rafters — when  L  remark  the  aihioft  indtn-ftive  judg- 
ment which  affifts  in  difcerning  them — when  I  fee 
that  they  praife  and  love  only  what  they  can  conneft  to 
pure  virtue,  and  nob:e  intention,  I  return  to  my  fav- 
ourite fentiment,  aaid  believ-c  1  recognize  in  theft 
emotions  the  ftamp  of  a  hand  divine. 

After  having  tried  to  give  a  feeble  (ketch  of  tbo 
various  recompenfcs  and  different  fiitisfa£lions  which 
feem  to  appertain  to  regularity  of  principles,  and  pro- 
priety of  conduct,  you  will  perhaps  a(k>  if  you  have 
not  a  right  to  conclude  from  thefe  reflexions,  that  wo 
can  attach  men  to  morality  by  the  mere  motive  of  per- 
fonal  intered?  I  have  already  mentioned,  that  I  in- 
tended to  anfwer  iuch  an  objection ;  and  now  is  the: 
time  to  do  it. 

Virtue,  in,its  moft  improved,  ftatc — virtue,  fuch  as- 
v,re  have  juft  reprolented — is  not  the  work  of  a  mo- 
ment :  it  is  neceflary  that  it  mould  be  called  forth  and 
ftrengthened  by  degrees.  But  it  would,  be  nipped 
when  it  firft  begins  to  unfold  itfelf,  if  we  deftroyed 
ihe  fimple  opinions  which  ferve  to  educate  it — if  we. 
overturned,  the  only  end  which  can  be  perceived  by  all 
tjiinds— and  if  we  weakened  th^  fentiments  which  con- 
jescl.it  wjth  thofc  wbo,  refpecl  the  laws  of  morality^ 


94         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

and  who  promote  this  cultivation  by  their  comment 
ationsand  effeem. 

Befides,  it  is  not  virtue  only,    bat  virtue   united  to 
.         Afferent  motives,  which  contributes  to  our   happinefs, 
irusobfervationis   very  important  :  and    with    great 
facility  you  may  be  made  to   feel  the  full    force   of  it. 
•roployment  is  generally  reckoned  the  fureft  fource  of 
agreeable  imprefJions,  of  which  we  are  fufceptibie  ;  but 
charm  would  vamfli,  if  it  did  not  lead  to  fomc  re- 
compenfe-if  it   did    not  {how,   in  perfpeftive,  an  in- 
-reaie  of  wealth,   an   enjoyment  for   our  felf-love,  a 
e  for  fame,    or  forne  other  advantages,  of  which 
we  iwdeOwi-     Vainly,  fay  feme,  that  the  exercife 
of  °«r  Acuities  is   ofitfelfa  pleafure  ;  certainly,  be- 
caufethat  it  offers  to  our   view  a    train    of   profpefts 
which  fucceed  each  other.     But  there  mutt  always  be 
I  flrong _motive  to  direft  m  to  the  right  road,  and  make 
«s  fet  off:  our  bark  muft  be  driven  by  the  wind:  in 

?£'   tVeJ  ,k;nd°f  labour  re<?uires   encouragement, 
>ough  this  labour,  proportioned  to  our  flreng°h,  may 
be  more  favourable   to  happinefs   than  floth    and  idle- 
^eis ;(  and  this  truth    would  ftrike  us  Hill  more,    if  we 
idabilnyto   analyze  a  fentiment   with  fufficient  at- 
tention, to  diftinguifl,  clearly  the  happinefs  which  » 
nnexed  to  aaion  and  employment,    from  that  which 
necefianly  relates  to  the  end  and  to  the  motive  of  that 
action. 

The  reflexions,   which  I  have  juft  made,    may  bt 
appued  to^virtue.      We  can  ea%  in  ftudying  its  dif. 
nt  effects,  perceive,  that  it  is  an  excellent  %ide  in 
the  courfe  of  life  :   but  we  difcover,  at  the  fame  time, 
that  ,t  has  need,  as  well  as    employment,    of  a  (pur,  1 
Jmpie  encouragement  on  a  par  with    our    underHand- 
'g  ••   it  is  in  religion  that  virtue  finds   this  encourage- 
,  ™  and  we  mall    not  be  able  to  feparate  it  from 

e  motives  and  hopes  it  prefents,  without  difconcert- 
mg  every  connexion  it  has  wiLh  human  happinefs. 
.  t  will  be  eafy  to  perceive  the  great  benefit  which 
It  anfe  from  morality  :   but  at  the  fame  rime  it  muff 
be  remarked,    that,  to  follow  its  d.aates    wii';    confi- 
fiiencc  and   tirranefs,,  knowledge  and   flrong  powers  of 

reflexion 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS. 


•35 


.reflexion  are  neceffarily  required  in  the  fludy  of  fo 
compounded  a  truth.  We  are  then  in  want  of  a  mo- 
tive to  excite  our  firfl  effort,  which  fubjefts  us  to  felf. 
-denial,  and  determines  us  to  Itruggle  with  courage 
againft  the  dominion  of  the  prefent  moment. 

In  fliortj  even  when,  by  the  art  of  fophiflry,  fome 
philofophers  have,  at  length,  thrown  into  confufion 
the  true  principles  of  order  and  happinefs — when,  by 
the  force  of  addrefs,  they  have  led  us  to  doubt  about 
the  kind  and  degree  of  power  which  is  neceffary  to  af- 
Jign  to  religion — it  (hould  not,  however,  be  the  legii]a<- 
tors  of  the  nation  who  would  lend  an  ear  to  their  fpb- 
tle  diUinclions. 

Metaphyfical  fentimenfs  ard  ideas  are  not  proper 
for  ftatefmen,  but  in  their  own  defence — to  aflift 
them  to  guard  themfelves  from  the  afcendency  of 
brilliant  errors,  and  to  confirm  the  refpecV  due  to  ufe- 
ful  truths  :  but  when  they  have  to  guide  minds,  when 
they  wifh  to  exciie  activity,  it  is  always,  if  they  be 
wife,  the  molt  firnpie  idea  that  they  will  make  ufe  of ; 
and  they  will  be  very  careful  not  to  defpife  thofe 
habitual  principles,  to  which  time,  flill  more  than 
knowledge,  has  given  a  fan-clion.  Thefe  are  fo  ma- 
ny lefTons,  which  long  experience  feems  to  have 
gradually  dilengagca  iium  every  thing  foreign  to 
natural  morality  aud  the  feccct  fentimcms  of  men« 


CHAPTER     VII, 

On  Religious  Opinions >   in  thtir  relation  with 
Sovereigns. 

MAN  Y  nations,  cither  by    choice,    or   necefTify, 
have  depofned  their  wills  in  the  hands  of  an  in- 
dividual ;  and  have   thus   creeled  a   perpetual   monu- 
ment to  the  fpirit  of  difcord  and  injuilicc,    which    has 
fo  frequently   reigned    amongft    men.      It  is  true,  that 
time  to  time,  they  have    wifiicd  to  recoll:61  thac 

thev 


$6          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OT 

they  were  themfelves  capable  of  knowing  their  true 
intercft  :  but  monarehs  miflrufling  their  inconiiancy, 
have  taken  care  to  fortify  the  fprings  of  authority,  by 
furrounding  themfelves  with  {landing  armies  ;  and 
they  have  only  left  them  the  power  of  being  difguil- 
cd  with  flavery.  Soldiers  and  taxes  have  fuppoited 
each  other.:  and  through  the  affiflarice  of  this  corref- 
ponding  aclion,  they  have  become  raafters  and  dnec- 
tors  of  every  thing.  How  much  good  and  evil  de- 
pend on  them  ?  We  then  neccflariiy  \vifli  them  to 
poflefs  a  vigorous  morality,  proportioned  to  their  rm«- 
menfe  duties.  JSut  \vliat  force  will  your  morality 
have,  if  they  perceive  at  laft,  that  it  is  not  lupported 
"by  a  divine  ian&ion — if  they  con-fider  it  as  a  human 
inflitution,  which  they  have  power  tobreak,and  which 
Vhey  are  in  the  habit  of  modifying  ?  At  lean1,  they 
will  have  the  liberty,  like  other  men,  to  examine,  if 
their  private  intereft  agree  with  that  of  the  public  ; 
.and  their  condu£r,  will  depend  on  the  icfalt  of  thi« 
.calculation. 

I  will  acknowledge  that  at  the  point  of  elevation, 
"where  kings  find  themfelves  placed,  they  ought  not  to 
be  acquainted  with  thofe  paflions  which  proceed  from 
our  petty  competitions  ;  but  how  many  oiher  ienti- 
tnentshave  they  not  to  reprels  ?  And  with  what  ce- 
lerity is  it  neceifary  to  do  it  j  lince  they  do  not  expe- 
rience any  contradiftion,  they  are  not,  like  u?,  obliged 
to  refletV  and  coniider !  Befides,  though  lovereigns 
are  fbppofcd  to  be  {heltered  by  their  fuuaticr;,  from 
ihe  irntatiom  of  fe If  love,  and  from  ilie  cleiires  of 
fortune  and  advancement  ;  they  arc  not,  however, 
difer.gaged  from  every  paffion  of  this  kind.  It  is  to- 
wards other  princes,  that  they  feel  them  :  and  envy, 
ambition,  and  revenge,  become  often  very  dangerous  ; 
as  they  affociate  with  thefe  paifions  thofe  of  the  na- 
tion they  govern,  by  means  of  a  war.  It  is  then  that, 
freed  from  religious  ties,  and  fure  of  n-ct  accounting 
•with  any  body,  they  would  find  morality  a  very  iuge« 
nious  invention,  to  render  the  maintenance  of  public 
order  more  eafy,  and  to  preferve  the  !ubordiiiatiof» 
which  fecures  their  pcwtrj  but  would  aot  acknowl- 
edge 


11ELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  r,7 

V'.J^e  fuch  a  mailer  for  tbemfelves,  and  would  difpenfe 
with  bowing  to  its  dictates. 

You  will  fay,  undoubtedly,  that  a  virtuous  king 
*would  be  recompenfed  by  the  applaufe  of  his  fubjefls : 
but  I  have  already  fhown,  that  the  influence  of  public 
opinion  would  be  very  weak,  if  the  principles  of  mo- 
rality, which  ferve  to  guide  this  opinion,  were  not  lup* 
ported  by  religion.  We  (hould  alfo  obferve,  that  eir- 
-logiums  and  applaufe,  homage  fo  encouraging  to  pri- 
vate men,  have  not  an  equal  power  over  princes,  who 
cannot,  like  individuals,  confi'der  this  fuffrage  as  ant 
•earnett,  or  forerunner  of  exaltation.  It  is  by  the  con- 
tinual view  of  the  advantages  and  triumphs  of  others, 
that  the  defire  of  refpett  and  diftinftion  is  continually 
vkept  alive  :  and  it  may,  perhaps,  proceed  a  little  from 
the  ftimulaiion  of  envy,  or  at  ieatt  from  thofe  jarring 
preienfions,  and  from  thofe  fl niggles  of  felf-love,  of 
which  fociety  alone  is  the  theatre.  Princes  without 
rivals  are  not  fubject  to  the  fame  impreffions  :  and  the 
flattery  they  have  fo  early  imbibed,  and  the  praifcs 
which  are  lavilhed  on  them  from  the  fimple  motive  of 
hope,  all  ferve  to  render  them  lefs  ftnfibSc  to  deferved 
applaufe.  In  fiiart,  this  exaggerated  praife  fooa  be- 
comes a  du'l  monotony,  which  extmguilhes,  by  its  uni- 
formity, that  emulation  which  a  juft  homage  fometimes 
infpires.  There  would  be  then  great  danger  in  repo- 
fing  too  much  on  the  power  of  public  opinion,  if  we 
were  to  conlider  it  as  a  check  able  to  iupply  with 
princes  the  comprefiing  force  of  religion. 

I  mult  now  make  an  elTential  remark  :  thofe  who 
furround  a  monarch,  often  miflead  his  judgment  by 
the  nature  and  ths  application  of  the  eulogiurhs  which 
they  laviih  on  him.  The  praife  of  men  in  a  monar- 
chy,.  always  has  a  taint  of  -flavery.  Thus, 'in  fuch 
countries,  a  look,  a  word  from  the  prince,  which 
ieems  to  tfoce,  for  an  inllant,  the  diilance  that  fepa- 
ratcs  hirn  frorn  his  fubjech,  delights  them  :  and  their 
^enthufialin  in  thofe  moments  ferves  to  perfuade  the 
monarch,  ihat  it  is  foHidiejit  fur  hiiw  to  imil?,  to  ren- 
tier his  people  hjppy  :  daagerous  iliufion,  fad  cffetlof 
•&rvijity  !  In  ihor:,  in  coiif-qucnce  of  ;'he  character 


9&         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

•which  is  impreffed  by  an  habitual  yoke,  men  are  pleafej 
with  exalting  the  power  of  him  to  whom  they  oblig- 
ed to  fubmit  ;  they  love  to  fee  their  fervile  compan- 
ions multiplied  :  and  as  the  greater  part  of  them  have 
feldom  any  accefs  to  the  prince.  Vanity  purfues  them. 
that  in  affecling  to  partake  of  the  royal  grandeur, 
they  contfaft  a  kind  of  familiarity  with  it.  Therefore, 
without  reflecting  whether  it  will  be  more  in  the  po\v- 
er  of  the  fovereign  to  make  them  happy,  when,  bv 
enlarging  his  dominions,  he  (hall  have  more  fubjecls, 
and  of  courfe  more  duties  to  fulfil,  they  celebrate, 
above  all,  the.  conquering  warrior,  and  thus  invite 
princes  to  prefer  the  purfuit  of  military  glory  to  every 
other.  And,  as  the  multitude  can  quickly  compre- 
hend this  kind  of  merit — as  the  gaining  of  a  battle  is 
a  fimple  idea,  eafily  conceived  by  men  of  every  con- 
dition and  turn  of  mind,  it  happens,  by  this  reafon- 
ing,  that  thefe  triumphs  are  the  moft  highly  extolled  ; 
and  even  that  men  on  account  of  them,  can  excufe 
every  other  failure,  broken  treaties,  violated  oaths, 
alliances  abandoned.  In  (hort,  fuch  is  the  mad  folly 
of  our  praife,  that  the  tranquility  of  the  flate,  the  re- 
pofe  of  the  people,  the  rnild  benefits  of  peace,  appear 
no  more  than  tne  laft  conlequence  of  the  labours  and 
the  fuccef*  of  a  monarch  ;  and  even  hiftory  frequent- 
ly reprefents  this  fortunate  time,  as  the  days  of  ob- 
fcurity  in  which  heroes  of  blood  and  carnage  ate  edu- 
cated. Kings,  difcontented  with  their  deftiny,  are 
\varriors  through  ambition,  and  happy  by  the  victo- 
ries, to  which  we  annex  our  firft  honours^  and  the 
rooft  noble  wreaths  of  fame. 

It  is  thus,  however,  that  the  prevailing  opinion,  and 
the  rumour  of  renown,  can  fomeumes  deceive  princes, 
though  inconfiftent  with  the  iriflructiens  of  morality 
and  the  legiflation  of  yore,  which  point  out  the  true  in- 
tereft  of  the  people  as  the  firft  object  of  a  fovereign's 
anxious  folicitude  ;  and  inltead/of  a  founding  name, 
and  dazzling  qualities,  enforce  thofe  requifue  to  form 
the  guardian  and  proteftor  of  the  felicity  of  the  public  ; 
duties  of  vail  extent,  and  which  are  discharged  by  the 
Secret  labours  of  paternal  vigilance-}  ilill  mere  thaji  by 

the 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS* 

:ioife  of  the  drum,  and  the  inftruinents  of,  deduc- 
tion-. <   . 

Let  us  confiner,  however,  the  influence  the  opinion 
of  the  world  will  have  on  fovereigns,  in  directing  only 
our  views  towards  the  interior  funftions  of  adminHlra- 
tion.  An  efTeatial  observation  prefents  itfelf  at  firft  to 
the  mind  :  it  is,  thit  the  third  for  glory  is  efpecially 
feit  when  a  great  abufe  is  fo  be  reformed,  and  when 
we  <;an  hope  to  make  regularity  iucceed  to  confuhon. 
But  when  this  tafk  is  fulfilled,  and  that  it  is  only  ne- 
ce'fary  to  pfeferve  and  {upport  what  is  good*  the  love 
of  renown  has  itot  fufficient  aliment,  and  it  is  then  that 
the  virtus  of  princes  becomes  the  only  faithful  guardian, 
of  the  public  intereft.  A  reign,  fuch  as  we  have  form- 
ed an  idea  of,  would  carry  away  fro:n  the  following 
ones  every  fubjeti  of  dazzling  fpier.dor  :  and  it  would 
be  neceflary  that  new  troubles  ant!  fears  re-animated 
the  femimc'nt  of  admiration,  :o  v;ivc  it  its  ancient  ai- 
cendency  and  original  force. 

We  mould  be  able  alfo,  and  tin's  picture  wonld  be 
very  different,  to  figure  toourfelvcs  a  period,  when,  by 
the  fucceflive  gradation  of  character,  the  opinion  of  the 
public  would  flo  longer  indicate  the  way  to  fame,  nor 
refeund  to  excite  ambition  ;  the  recompenfes  it  offers, 
would  not  be  a  motive  fufficiently  ^powerful  to  influ- 
ence men.  Thus,  in  a  country,  in  a  metropolis,  where 
covetoufnefs  feemed  triumphant,  where  every  body 
would  appear  to  purfue  that  fortune  which  is  only  ac- 
ouircd  by  intrigue,  and  the  vices  of  thofe  who  bettov/ 
if,  refpecl  for  the  real  intereft  of  the  people,  and  atten- 
tion to  lighten  their  burdens,  would  no  longer  purchafe 
renown.  In  like  manner,  in  a  country  where  defpo- 
tjfm  reigns,  and  the  people  are  accuftotned  to  proftrate 
themlelves  before  power,  they  would  acknowledge  no 
other  idol.  We  fhould  not  there  be  able  to  acquire 
a  cotemporary  fame  by  elevation  of  character,  by  tem- 
pering with  wifdom  the  exercife  of  authority,  and  al- 
lowing the  citizens  to  enjoy  that  degree  of  freedom, 
which  does  not  degenerate  into  licemioufnefs.  It  i-, 
then  morality,  and  morality  aione,  which  comes  at  all 
limes,  and  in  all  circumftances,  to  refill  the  revolutions 

of 


ioo         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

of  habit  and  opinion,  of  which  hiflory  fur  nifties  exam* 
pies,  and  of  which  men  art  ever  fufceptible. 

1  ought  not  to  riegleft  another  very  important  con~ 
federation.  Princes,  by  the  elevation  of  their  rank, 
and  influence  on  (he  national  manners,  find,  that  they 
are  in  that  finguiar  fituation.  where  one  is  more  callea 
to  direct  the  reigning  opinion,  than  receive  inftrucliori 
and  encouragement  from  it.  Thus  we  are  impelled  to 
\vifli,  that  a  monarch  (hould  have  principles,  which 
flow  from  his  heart,  and  which  depend  on  his  reflex- 
ions, from  which  he  may  be  able  to  derive,  at  all  times, 
a  force  properly  his  own,  a  natural  courage.  Jt  is 
necefiary  fora  prince  to  inveftigate  and  decide  on  hi: 
own  conduct  :  and  a  fublime  morality  {hould  nouriih 
in  his  heart  an  ideal  model  of  perfection,  with  which- 
he  can  continually  compare  the  opinions  of  the  world, 
and  the  private  judgment  of  his  confcience. 

In  fhort,  and  this  iaft  reflexion,  which  I  have  made,- 
will  apply  in  a   general   manner,  to  the   preceding  re«, 
marks;   the  opinion  of  the  public,  the  juft   complaints^ 
of  the  people,  are  fometimes  a   long  while  in  reaching 
the  prince.     They  ring  in  the  kingdom  before  he  hears^, 
the  rumour.     They  wander  round  the  £4lace,  but  the 
whsfpers  do  not  reach  him.     Vanity,  pride,  and  every: 
yice  excludes   them.     The  old   courtiers   fneer  ;  anJ/ 
the  infignificant  purfuers  of  credit  or  favour    amufe 
themfelves  by  indulging  their  propenfity  for  ridicule,; 
The  minifters    who  are  followed  by  the  clamour,  are- 
often   importuned  by    it ;   and    when  it  reaches    their> 
tnafter,  find  fome  method  to  weaken  its  impreflion,  at- 
tributing thefe  commotions  to  private  paflions,  and  giv- 
ing the  name  of  cabal,  to  a  juft  indignation  againft  vice.. 
Yes,  fuch  is  the  unhappy  fate  of  princes,  that  the  peace 
of  a  fiate  isoften  tottering,  before  the   opinion  of    the- 
world  reaches  them,  and  difcovers   the    truth  ;  a  new 
confideration,    very   proper  to  convince  us,  that  the 
power  of  opinion  can  never  equal  in  utility  thofe  grand 
principles  of  morality,  which,  by  the  aid   of  religion, 
are  fixed  in  the  hearts  of  men,  to  give  them  laws,  with- 
QUt  dirfinclion  of  birth,  rank,  or  dignity. 

But  ifs  from  fovereigns;  we  carry  our  views  to  thofe, 

\vfcq. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  101. 

wao'ihare  their  confidence,  we  (hall  perceive  flill  more 
the  abfolute  neceflity  of  an  active  and  governing  morali- 
ty.  Minifters  without  virtue,  are  moie  to  be  feared  than 
iovereigns    indifferent  to  public   good.     Newly  come 
out  of  the  crowd,  they  know  better  than  the  monarch, 
the  felfifh  ufe   that    they  can  make  of  all  the    panton* 
and  vices  :  and  as  they  are  connected  with  fociety,  as 
they  have  a  continual  relation  with  the  different  orders 
of  the    ftate,    their  corruptions   are  propagated — and 
their  dangerous  influence   fpreads   to  a  great  diftance. 
Attacked,  neverthelefs,  by  the  public,  they  become  flill 
more  mifchievous  in  warding  off  danger  ;  for  defpair- 
ing  of  dtfguife  beforethe  attentive  eyes  of  a  whole  peo- 
ple they  turn  their   addrefs  again  It  the   prince.     They 
ftudy  they  pry  into  his  weakness,  and  artfully  encou- 
rage, thofe  which   may  p  rot  eft  or  cover  the  defects  of 
their  character.     They  apply  thernfelves,  at  the    fama 
time,  to  adorn  immorality  with  every  grace  which   ca:i 
render  it  amiable  ;   and  they  endeavour  to  make  virtue 
hateful,  by    delineating  it  as  auftere,    imperious,  unfo- 
ciable,  and  almoft  incomparable  with  our  morals   and 
manners.     It  is  thus  that   mini  tiers   not  retrained    by 
principles,  occafton  not  only  the  mifery  of  a   country- 
while  their  influence  iafts,  but  poifon  thefource  of  pub- 
lic felicity,  by  weakening   in  the   monarch  his    fenti- 
ments  of  duty,  diverting  his  gooddifpoGuions,  and  dif- 
couraging,  if  I  may  fay  fo,  his  natural  virtues. 

In  fhort,  the  picture  which  I  have  juft  drawn  wilt 
produce  another  important  obfervatioa  ;  the  prince, 
after  having  wandered  out  of  the  path  of  true  glory, 
may  return,  when  he  pieafes,  to  the  love  of  virtue 
and  greatnefs.  All  the-  avenues  are  open  to  him,  all 
hearts  ready  to  welcome  him  ;  we  have  an  inclination 
to  love,  and  defire  to  efteem  him,  whom  fate  has  plac- 
ed at  the  head  of  the  nation  ;  and  who,  invefled  with 
the  majefty  which  he  borrows  from  a  long  train  of  an- 
ceftors,  exhibits  himtelf  fur  rounded  by  all  the  en- 
chantments  of  a  diadem.  We  adopt,  with  pleafure 
any  interpretation  which  can  excufe  his  conducL  — 
We  impute  to  ill  counfels  the  faults  which  he  has 
committed  ;  and  we  are  eager  to  enter  with  him  into 


102        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

a  new  contract  of  efteem  and  hope.  It  is  not  the 
with  minifters  ;  a  like  indulgence  is  not  due  to  them  ; 
becaufe  they  cannot  throw  the  blame  on  others,  and 
all  their  aQions  proceed  from  themfelves.  When  they 
have  once  loft  the  opinion  of  the  public,  their  deprav. 
i  v  will  increafe  daily  ;  becaufe,  to  maintain  their 
poft,  they  are  obliged  to  redouble  their  intrigues  and 
diffimulation. 

I  have  maturely  reflected  :  the  religion  of  princes, 
of  minifters,  of  government  in  general,  is  the  firft 
fourceofthe  happinefs  of  the  people.  We  defpife 
it  ;  becaufe  it  is  not  our  invention,  and  we  often 
give  the  preference  to  thofe  artifices  of  the  mind, 
which  feduce  us  as  being  our  ow.n  work  :  and  per- 
haps they  are  wanted,  after  having  loft  fight  of  this 
lure  and  faithful  guide,  this  companion  of  true  ge- 
nius, which,  like  it,  prefers  eafy  and  fimple  means.— 
Yes,  this  exalted  virtue,  refembling  fuperior  abilities, 
rejects  equally  thofc  weak  refources  and  inventions, 
which  derive  not  their  origin  from  an  elevated  fenli- 
ment  or  grand  thought  :  and,  while  one  obliges  a 
ilatefman  to  refpe£t  honour,  juftice  and,truih,  the  other 
discovers  the  union  cf  thele  principles  with  the  juft 
means  which  flrengthen  authority,  and  with  the  true 
*!ory  and  durable  fuccefs  of  politics.  Jn  fhort, 
while  one  renders  him  anxious  about  the  happinefs  of 
the  people,  the  other  (hows  how,  from  the  bofom  ct 
ihis  happinefs,  they  would  fee  rife  infenfit>ly  an  agree- 
ment of  ioterefts  and  of  wills,.of  whofe  extcrifive  ufs 
•we  are  ftill  ignorant. 

If  we  \vi(h  to  dwell  a  moment  on  the  private  hap*, 
winefs  of  princes,  we  {hall  readily  perceive,  that  thty 
nave  a  real  want  of  the  encouragement  religion  afr 
fords.  Their  diftinguiftied  authority  appears,  indeed^ 
to  their  mind,  a  fjogular  privilege.  They  believe 
this  power  fhould  extend  to  every  thing  :  and  thtfy. 
indifcreetly  endeavour  to  accelerate  the  moments  of 
enjoyment.  But  as  they  cannot  change  the  law  of 
nature,  it  happens,  that  Jn  delivering  therafelves  up  ta 
every  thing  which  feduces  their  imagination,  they  ex- 
perience as  quickly  the  fad  languor  of  indifference^ 
and  the  oppreflion  of  apathy. 

Kings* 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  tog 

Kings,  in  the  exercife  of  their  intellectual  faculties, 
are  expofed  to  the  fame  extremes.  Providence  hav- 
ing placed  them  on  the  pinnacle  of  fortune,  they  con- 
fequently  have  not  been -led  from  one  view  to  anoth- 
er, and  know  not  thofe  gradations,  which  aftuate  their 
fubjecls  in  the  name  of  vanity,  felf-love,  or  fortune. — 
Alas  !  we  obey  fo  quickly,  and  their  defires  are  fo 
fbon  gratified,  that  their  taftes  and  inclinations  cannot 
be  renewed  with  the  rapidity  neceflary  to  enable  them 
to  fill  the  irkfome  void  which  fo  frequently  occurs. — 
If  the  magnificent  end,  which  religion  offers,  were  to 
be  obfcured,  and  if,  henceforth,  we  were  to  confider 
it  as  a  fallacious  illulion,  unworthy  of  our  attention, 
kings  would  foorr  attain  to  that  term  when  the  future 
would  appear  to.  their-  mind  a  barren  uniformity,  a 
fpace  witncut  colour  or  form, 

The  numerous  duties  of  princes,  undoubtedly,  af- 
ford a  continual  fource  of  fatisfa&ion  :  but  it  is  necef- 
fary  that  they  mould  be  able  to  conneft  all  their  ob- 
ligations to  a  grand  idea,  the  only  one  which  can  con- 
ihntly  animate  their  actions  and  thoughts,  who  have 
ueed  of  neither  favour  nor  advancement  from  tlieir  fel- 
iow  creatures.  And  how  much  would  it  contribute 
to  their  happinefs  Ibme times.,,  to  imagine  themfelves  be- 
tween this  world,  ia  which  they  are  weary  of  their  own 
power,  and  thai  magnificent  future,  the  fublime  con- 
templation of  which  would  carry  them,  with  a  new- 
charm, to  the  exercife  of  their  authority  1  W  hat  pleaf- 
ure  then  would  flow  from  this  authority,  the  fource  of 
fa  uauch  good  !—  What  pleafure  would  they  not  find  ia 
more  cloTery  imitating  the  divine  beneficence,  the  rnoft 
comfortable  of  all  ideas,  and  what  a  moment  for  them, 
when  particularly  confoious  of  the  prefenc^  of  the 
exalted  friend  of  the  whole  human  race,they  mould  be 
able  to  refleft,  in  the  morning,on  the  people'they  were 
going  to  make  happy,  and  in  the  evening,  on  thofe  on 
whom  they  had  actually  conferred  benefits.  What  a 
difference  between  ihel'e  delicious  moments,  whofc 
influence  the  nation  feels.and  thofe  infignificant  levees, 
only  known  to  courtiers,  in  which  the  monarch  is  the 
%etUcie,  and  taftes  the  fai  pleafure  of  feeing  fo  many 

men 


i«4         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

men  cringing  before  their  own  image.  What  a  differ- 
ence, even  between  thefe  rapturous  fenfations,aod  thofe 
raifed  by  flattery  cr  the  dazzling  parade  which  fur- 
rcunds  him,  in  the  midft  of  which  he  cannot  difcera 
himfelf,  whether  he  is  a  great  man,  or  only  a  king. 

In  fhort,  we  ought  to  acknowledge,  that  the  more 
extenfive  the  horizon,  which  opens  before  fovereigns, 
the  greater  is  the  number  ofduties  prefented  to  their  re- 
flexions, the  more  they  muft  feel  the  wantof  thatfuftain- 
ing  power  fo  infinitely  fuperior  to  their  own  flrength. 
They  are  confcious  of  the  difproportion  which  exifts 
between  the  extent  of  their  authority,  and  the  means 
entrufled  to  human  nature :  and  it  is  only  by  fupport- 
ing  themfelves  againft  that  rcyfterious  pillar,  creeled  by 
religion,  that  they  can  be  firm,  and  confider  without 
affright,  that  Providence  has  called  them  to  regulate  and 
direct  thedeftiny  of  a  whole  empire.  It  was  when  pro- 
foundly meditating  on  the  exigence  of  a  God,  reflect- 
ing on  the  influence  and  various  relations  of  fuch  a 
grand  thought, that  Marcus  Aurelius  discovered  all  the 
extent  of  his  duties,  and  felt,  at  the  fame  time,  the  cour- 
age and  will  to  fulfil  them.  The  happy  and  conflant 
agreement  of  his  aftions  and  principles  made  his  reig* 
an  illuftrious  example  of  wifdom  and  morility. 

We  muft^confefs,  that  it  is  to  virtue,  fupported  by 
every  fentiment  which  it  imprints  on  the  human  heart^ 
that  we  fliould  wifli  to  confide  the  facred  depofit  of 
public  happinefs.  This  alone  is  always  faithful  and 
vigilant  ;  furpaffes  the  fpur  of  praife  ;  and,  by  the  af- 
cendency  of  a  great  example,  leads  men  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  every  thfng  they  ought  to  admire. 


CHAPTER 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  105 

CHAPTER     VIII. 


An  Objection  drawn  from  the  Wars,  and  from 
the  Commotions  which  Religion  has  given 
rife  to. 

T.  SHALL  prefent,   at  firft,   this  objection  in  all  its 
JL  force;  or  rather  I   will  not  fcek,  to  weaken  it.     It 

.  be  needlefs  to  recal  to  the  memory  of  ms 
the  evils  that  have  happened  during  a  long  feries  of 
years,  with  which  we  have  reafon  to  reproach  the  blind 
and  favage  zeal  of .  religioj*  fanaticifm.  Every  one 
has  prefent  to  his  mind  thofe  multiplied  a&s  of  intole- 
rance which  have  fullied  the  annals  of  hi ftory.  Every 
one  knows  the  fcenesof  difccrd,  of  war  and  fury,  which 
theological  controverfies  have  caufed  amongft  men. 
They  have  been  informed  of  the  fatal  confeq'JCBces 
which  thsfe  enterprifes  have  brought  in  their  train,  and 
which  the  rare  virtues  of  a  great  king  have  not  been 
able  to  juftify.  In  fcort,  to  maintain,  in  all  ages,  a 
remembrance  of  the  fatal  abufes  which  have  been  com- 
mitted in  the  name  of  the  God  of  peace,  it  would  be 
fufficient  to  defcribe  th^fc  direful  days,  when  fome 
different  tenet  produced  a  fentenc^  of  profcription, 
and  the  frightful  Ggnil  of  the  moft  crjel  frenzies. 

It  is  thus,  then,  that  in  ail  times,  by  air  abfurd  tjr- 
ranny,or  by  a  ferocious  emhuGafx,  triumphs  have  been 
contrived  for  the  eager  detractors  of  religion.  Let  us 
examine,  hovever,  if  the  deductions  which  they  wiQi 
10  draw  from  thefe  errors  of  the  human  mind,  be  found- 
ed on  reafon  and  juftice. 

I  fhali  not  flop  to  obferve,  that  religion  has  oftener 
-ten  the  pretext,  than  the  true  motive,  of  the  unhap- 
py convulfions  of  which  it  appears  at  prefent  the  folc 
origin  ;  or  flop  to  recal  the  various  political  advanta- 
£rs,  wbicli  could  only  artfe  from  fuch  a  grand  prmci 


i0,p         OF- THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

pie  of  a^ion.  Thofe  augufl  teftimonies  are  com- 
memorated in  hiflorv.  1  fhali  only  borrow  the  fup« 
port  of  reafon,  and  fhaJl  bound  rny  difcuflion  to  a  few 
fimple  reflexions. 

Do  you  think,  that  by  relating  the  different  abufes 
of  authority,  we  could  prove  the  advantage  of  anar- 
chy ?  Could  we  decry  eve-ry  fpecies  of  jurifpru- 
dence,  by  recounting  all  the  ills  which  have  been  pro- 
duced by  chicane  ?  Should  we  be  able  to  throw  an 
odium  on  the  fciences,  by  recalling  all  the  fatal  dif- 
covcries  which  are  owing  to  our  refearches  ?  Would 
it  be  proper  to  ftifle  every  kind  cf  felf-love  and  ac- 
tivity, by  reciting  the  different  crimes  which  covet-- 
oufnefs,  pride  and  ambition  have  given  rife  to  ?  And 
ought  we,  then,  to  defire  to  annihilate  religion,  be- 
caufe  fanaticifra  has  made  a-n  inftrument  of  it  to  dif- 
trefs  the. .human  fpecies  ?  All  thefe  quefiions  are 
fimilar,  and  all  mould  be  rcfolved  in  the  fame  manner, 
Thus  we.  -may  fay,  with  refpecl  to  them,  that  in  all 
our  &ter*fts  and  paffions,  it  is  by  acquired  knowledge 
and  the  light  of  reafon,  that  right  is  feparated  from 
wrong  :  but  we  ought  never  to  confound  their  prox- 
irnitY  with  area!  identity, 

ranaticifm  and  religion  have  not  any  connexion  *y 
tho%h  very  often  thefe  ideas  are  found  united.  It 
is  not  the  worfhip  of  the  common  Father  of  men — it 
is  not  the  morality  of  the  gofpel,  whofe  precepts  lead 
to  goodnefs  and  forbearance,  which  infpires  the  fpirit 
of  perfecutioo.  \Ve  fhould  attribute  it  to  a  blind 
^madnefs,  uniting  all  thofe  wild  errors  and  crimes 
/which  dishonour  humanity.  But  fince  at  prefent,  the 
exceffes,  lo  which  men  abandon  themfelves,  do  not 
induce  us  to  condemn,  as  a  misfortune,  all  the  fenti- 
ments  of  which  the  criminal  paffions  are  only  the  ex- 
treme, why  do  we  wifli  to  refufe  religion  the  gratitude 
which  is  its  due,  becaufe  fometimes  it  has  given  birth 
to  hatred  and  unhappy  divifions  ?  It  would  be  ne- 
ceffary  rather  to  remark,  that  intolerant  zeal  is,  of  all 
the  errors  of  the  human  mind,  that  on  which  the  yro- 
gpsfsofour  knowledge  appears  to  have  had  molt  in- 
Uuence.  In  faft,  while  ianaticifm  gradually  weaken- 
ed, 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  107 

ed,  feems  to  be  now  verging  to  its  decline,  the  difor- 
ders,  connected  with  the  common  paflions  of  airbi- 
tion,  love  of  wealth,  the  third  of  pleafure,  remain  in 
all  their  force. 

However,  what  fentiment,  what  predominant  idea^ 
has  a  greater  claim  to  pardon  for  its  miftakes,  than  de- 
votion ?  By  what  an  infinite  number  of  benefits  the 
pure  fpirit  of  religion  makes  amends  for  the  abufes 
which  fpring  from  the  falfe  interpretation  of  its  pre- 
cepts !  It  is  to  this  fpirit  as  we  have  Ihown,  that  men 
owe  the  liability  of  public  order  and  the  firm  princi- 
ples of  juRice.  It  procures  the  indigent  the  fuccours 
of  charity — and  virtue  its  encouragement — oppreffed 
innocence  its  only  refuge — and  fenfibility  its  deareft 
hopes.  Yes,  the  pure  fpirit  of  religion  furrounds  us 
on  every  (ide.  It  makes  the  charm  of  folitude,  the 
band  of  fociety,  the  invigorator  of  intimate  affections: 
and  can  we  calumniate  and  wi(h  to  deftroy  it,  on  re- 
collecling  the  tyrannic  opinions  of  fome  priefls  and 
ibvereis;ns,  whofe  principles  and  conduct  we  now  de- 
left ? 

1  (hall  further  remark,  and  afk,  why  men  denounce 
a  fentence  of  reprobation  iigaintt  religion,  and  give,  as 
the  motive,  the  ancient  wars  of  which  it  has  been  the 
origin  :  while  they  never  conteft  the  importance  of 
commerce,  though  rivers  of  blood  have  been  continu- 
ally fhed  for  the  fmallelt  advantage  on  this  account? 
Can  they  be  fo  miRaken  in  their  judgment,  as  to  com- 
pare a  few  pecuniary  advantages,  which  one  political 
Hate  neverenjoys,  but  at  the  expenfe  of  another,  with 
thofejas  precious  as  they  are  univerla!,of  which  relig- 
ion is  the  origin  and  fupport  ? 

In  Chort,  among  the  various  arguments  that  are  em- 
ployed to  attack  thefe  opinions,  the  moft  frivolous,  un- 
doubtedly, is  that,  which  derives  all  its  force  from  the 
errors  and  faults,  of  which  the  prefeni  times  do  not 
f arnifh  any  example.  What  ihould  we  fay,  if,  at  the 
.'Moment  when  a  fupert  edifice  was  firm  on  its  founda- 
tion, v/e  ihould  be  e>iho7UJ  to  level  it  with  the  ground, 
£y  a  relation  of  all  the  accident  its  ereclion  occafion- 
«4? 

»  Throwing 


K>8        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

Throwing  then  a  painful  retrofpeft  on  the  period-of 
hiftory,  when   religion   was  made  the  pretext  of  wars 
and  cruelty  ;  let  us  oppofe  to  the  return  of  thofe   fan- 
guinary  fcenes,  let  us  oppofe  tothefpirit  of  intolerance, 
all  the  force  of  wifdom,  and  the  inltruftions  of  that  re- 
ligion  which  they  pretend  to  ferve  by  a  blind  zeal.  But 
far  from  freeing  us  from    the  refpecl,  that  we  owe   to 
fuch  falutary  opinions,  which  men  have  abufed,  let  us 
take  advantage  of  experience,  as  a  new  defence  againft 
the  wanderings  of  our   imaginations,  and  the  furprifes 
of  our  paffions*. 


CHAPTER     IX. 


i  Another  Objtttion  examined.     The  Sabbath. 

I  DO  not  intend  to  place  among  the  objections  I 
ought  to  difcufs,  nor  in  the  number  of  arguments, 
•that  it  is  important  to  examine,  the  various  opinions  on 
iuch  and  fuch  parts  of  religious  woilhip,  nor  the  diffi- 
culties raifed  againft  ihe  adoption  of  fome  dogmatic 
notion,  thought  eflential  by  fome,  and  conlidered  with 
indifference  by  others.  It  is  not  a  ireatiie  of  contro- 
verfial  theology  which  I  wifli  to  compofe  :  and  it  is 
JH1I  lefs  the  doftrines  of  one  particular  church,  which 
I  would  cppole  to  that  of  another.  All  of  them  con- 
necl  morality  to  the  commands  of  a  Supreme  Being. 
They  all  of  them  fee  in  the  public  worftiip  the  refpcct- 
ful  expreifion  of  a  fenrment  of  love  and  gratitude  to- 
wards the  Author  of  Naturt.  Thus,  thole  who  might 
think  they  perceived  iome  iroperfeftions  in  the  fyflem, 
or  in  the  fcims  of  worfiiip,  adopted  in  a  nation,  ihouid 

not 

*  1  ftiould  have  enlarged  ibis  chapter,  if  I  did  not  intend 
4o  make  fome  general  j-cficxions  oa  intolerance  in  another 
.part  of 


'RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  109 

hot  ufe  this  ofcjeclion  fo  difpute  the  utility  of  religion  ; 
flnce  the  reflexions,  which  have  b««n  juft  made  on  its 
importance,  may  be  applied  equally  to  the  dcclrines  of 
"sll  countries,  and  the  principles  of  every  feel. 

I  fhall  dwell  then  on  the  only  difficulty  which  inter- 
idfts, without  diftinftion,lhedifrerent  religions  of  Europe. 

The  eflabliihment  of  public  worfhip,    and    the  ne- 

ceffity  of  ccnfecrating  at  leafl  one  day  in  every  week, 

'  occafions,    fay  fome,   a   fufpecfion  of   latour  too  fre- 

Vjuent  :  and  this  fufpenfion  injures   the  Hate,  and  di- 

iriinifbes  the  refources.6f  the  people. 

I  may  at  firft  obfci  v.e,  that  fuch  objections  wouli 
appear  very  weak,  if  compared  with  the  great  advant- 
ages which  men  owe  to  religion  !  An  Jr.creafe  c£ 
\Vealth  can  never  outweigh  order,  morality,  and  hap- 
pinefs,  But  I  muft  go  further  to  prove,  that  a  day  o£ 
fell,  devoted  among  as  to  public  wcrfhip,  cannot  in- 
jure the  political  ftrength  ;  'and  that,  fo  far  from  being 
'  contrary  to  the  interefts  of  the  people,  it  protects  and 
favours  them  :  and  as  I  invariably  prefer  fi:ch  interests 
to  all  others,  I  fliall  begin  by  demonfl rating,  in  a  few 
words,  the  juflnefs  cf  this  proportion. 

We  fhould  be  miflaken,  it  Ve  thought,  that  in  a 
given  fpace  cf  time,  men,  forced,  by  the  inequality  of 
Conditions,  to  live  by  their  labour,  would,  by  obferving 
the  precepts  of  religion,  better  their  fituation,  if  they 
xvere  not  obliged  to  refl  from  labour  one  day  in  every 
week. 

It  is  neceflary,  in  order  to  perceive  this  trtr.h,  to 
Examine,  firfl,  vvhat  is  now  <h?  meafure  of  wages.  It 
is  not  in  exaft  proportion  between  labour  arid  iu  re- 
ward. In  fa6>,  if  we  confulted  only  the  light  of  rea- 
Ton  arc]  equity,  no  one,  I  believe,  wculd  dare  to  de- 
cide, thatthe  inoft  icanty  r.ccefTaries  are  tlie  juft  price 
of  fatiguing  and  painful  fab  our,  which  comniences  at 
fhe  dawn,  and  does  not  finifli  till  the  fettingof  ihe  fun. 
We  Ihould  nof  be  able  to  maintain,  thai  in  the  midft 
of  their  -enjoyments,  and  in  the  bofom  of  luxurious 
ivllenefs,  the  rich  ought  not  to  grant  any  oi.Ker  retribu- 
tion to  f  re  w};0  facrifice  their  time  and  llrcngth  to 
increafe  their  reve.nnc  and  "multiply  their  cnjovments. 
K  it 


ioi          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

It  u  not  then  by  the  principles  of  common  fenfe  or 
reflexion,  that  the  wages  of  the  generality  have  been 
fixed.  It  is  a  compact  eilablifhed  by  power,  a  yoke 
to  which  the  weak  muR  fubmif.  The  poflTtOTor  of  a 
vaft  domain  would  fee  all  his  riches  vanifti,  if  numerous 
labourers  did  not  co<ne  to  cultivate  his  eftat«,  and  car- 
ry into  his  ftore-houfe  the  fruit  of  their  toil.  But,  as 
<he  number  of  men  without  properly  is  immenfe,  their 
concurrence,  and  the  p  re  fling  need  they  have  to  labour 
for  a  fubfiflence,  obliges  them  to  receive  the  law  from 
him  who  can,  in  the  bofom  of  eafe,  wait  quietly  for 
their  fervices :  and  it  refults  from  this  habitual  relation 
between  the  rich  anjj  poor,  that  the  wages  for  hard  la- 
bour are  conOantly  reduced  to  the  mod  fcanty  allow- 
ance, that  is  to  fay,  to  what  is  only  fufficient  to  fatisfy 
their  daily  and  indifpeniable  wants. 

This  iySem  once  fettled,  4  fit  were  poffible,  that  by 
a.  revolution  in  our  nature,  men  could  live  and  pre- 
a'erve  their  ftrength  without  allotting  every  day  fome 
hours  to  repofe  and  Deep,  it  is  beyond  doubt,  that  the 
work  of  twenty  hoars  would  be  required  for  the  faai- 
ivages  now  granted  for  twelve. 

Or  by  an  afiimiiation  agreeiag  with  the  hypothefis 
I  have  juii  mentioned,  fuppofe  that  a  moral  revolution 
permitted  labourer?  to  work  the  feventh  day  ;  the  rich 
would,  confequently,  in  a  (hort  time,  require  of  them 
the  extraordinary  labour  at  the  former  rate  :  and  this 
levelling  would  take  place  through  the  gradual  diminu- 
tion of  the  price  of  labour.  The  clafs  offociety, 
which,  in  exerting  its  power,  has  regulated  the  prefent 
wages,  not  according  to  reafon  and  equity,  but  accord- 
ing to  theneceffitiesof  the  labourers, would  quickly  dif- 
cern  its  own  intereft  ;  and  that  when  a  day  more  was 
paid  for,  the  people  couM  bear  a  diminution  of  the 
feventb  part  of  their  wages,  and  be  in  their  old  ftatc. 
Thus,  though  before  the  change  had  thoroughly  taken 
place,  all  thofe  who  live  by  labour  would  think  that 
they  had  acquired  a  new  refourcc  ;  yet  they  would 
ibon  be  brought  to  their  former  condition ;  for  it  is  the 
fame  with  focial  order  as  with  the  law  of  equilibrium  in 
natu.rs,  which  combines  ranb.  and  places  every  thing 

according 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  1 1  i 

se-cording  to  the  immutable  law  of  the   proportion  ot 
force. 

Men,  devoid  of  property,  after  havirg  been  feme? 
time  deceived,  would  only  get  an  increafe  of  work  by 
the  abolition  of  tbe  Sabbath  :  and  as  this  truth  does 
not  prefent  itfelf  naturally  to  tbe  mind,  we  ought  to 
eonfider,  as  an  eflentia!  fervicc  of  religion,  its  having 
fecured  the  greater  number  of  men  from  a  degree  of 
opprediori  to  which  they  would  have  run  bhr.diy,  if 
they  had  been  at  liberty  to  make  a  choice. 

The  daily  labour  of  one  clafs  of  fociety  fnrpafTes  the 
reafonabie  meafure  of  its  ftrength,  and  haftens  the  days 
of  decrepitude.  It  was  then  abfolmely  neceflary  that 
the  cuftomary  courfe  of  thefe  labours  fhould  be,  for  a 
time,  (ufpended  :  but  as  the  people,  preffed  by  wants 
of  every  kind,  are  expofcd  to  be  feduccd  by  the  fl-ght* 
eft  appearance  of  advantage,  it  was  further  neceffary  to 
their  nappinefs,  that  the  interruption  of  their  fatigue*, 
fixed  by  a  religious  duty,  appeared  not  to  them  the 
voluntary  facrifice  cf  fortune,  and  did  not  leave  in 
them  any  regret.  In  fhort,  they  are  pieafed  when  they 
think  of  thofe  days  of  reft,  which  produce  a  liule  al- 
teration in  their  manner  of  living  ;  and  tfiey  require 
thai  alteration  not  to  be  depreffed  by  a  continual  train 
and  repetition  of  the  fame  occupations.  Thus,  were 
you  to  alTert  artfully,  that  the  people  are  not  as  com. 
fortable  of  a  Sunday,  as  (Coring  the  week,  it  would  he 
at  lealt  truer  thai  one  is  foftened  by  the  expectation  of 
the  other.  There  are  people  fo  very  wretched,  and 
probably,  on  that  account,  io  bounded  are  their  defircs, 
that  the  nioft  trifiing  variety  is  a  fubflitut*  fpr  hope.  It 
feems  to  me,  that  the  hearts  of  the  common  people 
may  be  fometimes  cheered  with  the  thought  of  bein^ 
once  a  week  drefled  like  their  fuperiors  ;  when  they 
are  abfolute  mafters  of  their  time,  and  can  fay. — and  I 
oifo— »1  am  free.* 

I  muft 

*  Thefe  various  reflexions  are  very  neceflary  in  the  place 
where  I  live  ;  fince,  for  a  fhort  time,  labourers  have'beerj 
permitted  to  work,  at  Paris,  of  a  Sunday.  We  fee  this  pub- 
licly done  at  the  new  bridge,  which  is  building  over  the 
Seine  ^  as  if  a  work  of  m«re  convenience  was  in  fugh  hafte, 


us        OF  THE.  IMPORTANCE-  OF 

I  muft  now  examine  the  fecond   propofition  which. : 

.  e  meniidned, 

You  have  made  it  obvious,  fome  will  fay,  that  an 
augmentation  of  the- days  of  labour  would  occafion  a 
reduction  of  the  wages  allowed  for  it  ;  we  may  then 
^eafonably  afk,  if  this  refult  wou'd  not  favour  com- 
merce, and  contribute  in  feme  refpeci,  to  incre«fe  the 
~al  ftrength  ?  Undoubtedly,  you  may  confider 
sr-ider  this  point  of  view,  the  diminution  of  the  reward 

duflry  :  but  the  political  ftrength  being  always  a 
re!at;ve  idea,  and  derived  from  comparifons  with  other 
U.ates.  this  Rrength  can  never  be  augmented  or  dimin-« 
ifhed  by  a  circumftance  common  to  all  the  countries  of 
-Kurope.  Were  a  barbarous  ambition  toabolifii  in  one 
iiate  the  Sabbath,  the  abolition  would  probably 
procure  it  a  degree  of  fuperiority,  if  it  was  the 
only  one  that  adopted  fuch,  a  change  :  but  as  foou 
as  others  followed  the  example,  the  advantage 
would  difappear.  However,  the  fame  arguments  ought 
to  ferve  to  convince  us3  that  tkofe  countries,  where  the 
intervals  of  ina&ion  occur  oftener,  have  neceffarily  a 
political  difadvantaje,  with  regard  to  others,  where 
Sunday  and  a  few  ioiemn  fcafls  are  the  only  days  of 
reit  prefcribc,d  by  government. 

We  may  conclude  from  thefe  obfervatiens,  that  fo 
far  from  finding  fault  with  religion,  for  apppinting  a 
day  of  reft,  devoted  every  week  to  public  worfliip,  we 
ought  to  acknowledge  with  pleafure,  that  fuch  an  iri- 
flitution  is  a  benevolent  aft,  extended  to  the  inoft  nu- 
merous clafs  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  the  moll 

deferring 

tkat  the  laws  fhould  ha  difpenfed  with,  to  accelerate  its  ex- 
ecution. The  labourers,  fome  will  fay,  are  glad  to  gain  a 
day  every  week.  Undoubtedly,  becaufe  they  fee  only  the 
prefent  inftant,  they  have  reafon  to  think  fo.  But  it  is  the 
duty  of  government  to  confider,  in  a  more  comprehenfive 
point  of  view,  the  intereft  of  the  people,  of  that  part  of  foci- 
ety,  which  is  fo  blind,  or  fo  limited  in  its  calculation.  And 
the  church  fhould  examine  alfo,  if  the  fudden  alteration  of  a 
practice  fo  ancient,  may  not  give  rife  fo  an  idea,  that  ths 
fpirit  of  religion  is  grown  feeble.  For  the  nations  where  thip 
fpirit  is  beft  preferved,  have  the  gi-eaUrft  refp«£  for  the 


H'ELI'dOUS  OPINIONS.  ng 

cfeferving  ourconfideration  and  protection  ;  from  which 
we  require  fo  much,  and  return  fo  little  :  towards  that 
unfortunate  clafs.  whofe  youth  and  maturity  the  rich 
profit  by,  and  abandon  them  when  the  hour  is  come, 
in  which  they  have  no  more  ftrength  !»ft,  but  to  ena- 
bie  them  to  pray  and  weep. 


CHAPTER     X. 

An  Obfervation  on  a  Particular  Circumftance 
of  Public  Worfliip. 


IT  is  not  fuflficient,  that  fovercigns  are  perfuaded  of 
the  influence  of  religion  on  the  morality  andhappi- 
ncfs  of  men.  They  ought  to  make  ufe  of  proper 
means  to  maintain  this  falutary  aclion  :  and,  of  courfe, 
every  part  of  public  worfhip  becomes  of  the  greateft. 
importance.  Educated  in  a  religion,  thought  by  fome 
to  approach  nearer  the  firft  ideas  of  chriitianity,  yet 
as  it  has  adopted  feveral  principles  by  no  means  con- 
ionant  with  the  catholic  faith,  it  would  be  unwife  in 
oie  to  difcufs  any  of  the  queftions  which  divide  dv? 
t\vo  churches  :  and  I  fhould  do  it-  without  any  good 
accruing  from  it  ;  fo  much  are  we  difpofed  to  refer 
to  early  prejudice*,  the  ideas  which  are  mod  intimate- 
ly blended  with  the  fentiments  and  feeling  of  a  man, 
we  like  to  take  a  general  view,  and  this  method  agrees 
with  our  indolence  ;.  but  it  leads  us  often  aftrav.  I 
think,  however,  that  the  minds  of  the  people  are 
now  fufficiently  enlightened,  to  permit  me  to  advjfa 
the  fuperiors  of  both  church  and  ftate,  to  examine  at« 
tentivcly,  if  it  be  net  full  time  to  make  more  ufe  of  ths 
vulgar  tongue,  and  if  we  be  not  warned,  by  the  pref- 
?nt  depravity  of  morals,  to  alter  the  manner  of  per- 
forming diviae  fcrvice  in  this  refpecl. 


ii4        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

It  is  only  during  an  interval  of  the  grand  raafs,  thafc 
the  pricft  addrefles  jlo  country  people  fome  words  of 
exhortation  in  their  own  language.  It  was  natural  to 
confider  this  moment  as  the  molt  proper  to  difpofe  the 
Blind  to  refpeft  and  attention  ;  but  perhaps,  even  the 
pomp  of  an  auguft  ceremony,  by  attrafting  ftrong!^ 
the  imagination,  withdraws  the  generality  from  the  im- 
portance of  the  other  parts  of  divine  worfliip  ;  and  it 
frequently  happens,  in  country  places,  that  many  peo- 
ple go  out  of  the  church  during  the  fermorv,  and  re- 
turn at  the  moment  of  confecration. 

1  think,  alfo,  that  public  prayers  mould  always  be 
in  the  vulgar  tongue  ;  and  they  might  eafily  be  made 
intereftmg  and  affecllng  ;  as  there  are  not  any  reiig- 
ious  difcourfes  which  fympathize  with  more  human 
v/eaknefs  :  and  as  our  wants  and  anxieties  may  be  made 
uie  of  to  raife  us  towards  the  Supreme  Being,  the  bet* 
*>f  all  bands  might  be  chofen  to  win  ths  multitude. 

I  mult  ohierve,  befiJes,  that  part  of  the  country 
people,  especially  in  harvett  time,  and  other  feafons, 
vyiien  the  hulbandman  is  particularly  bufy,  affift  only 
at  early  mafs,  and  then  they  fee  but  a  part  of  the  relig- 
ious ceremonies.*  And,  if  the.  practice  and  liberty 
/ofking  on  a  Sunday  were  'mote  extended,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  country,  fiill  more  confinetf  to  the  firfi 
wafs,  would  hear  neither  prayers  nor  inftraftive  dif- 
courfes in  their  own  language,  during  the  whole  year, 

Certainly  there  mutl  be  fomething  altered  in  thefe 
peligious  inftitutions,  in  order  to  make  them  more  effi- 
cacioulJy  icrve  to  fupport  morality,  an.d  comfort 
the  iroit  numerous  clafs  of  the  human  race.  Country 
•people,  whofe  labour  produces  our  wealth,  ought  to 
be  taken  care  of  with  paternal  anxiety  :  and  fines 
they  are  not  expofed  to  thofe  diforderfy  padions 
xvhich  find  nourimment  in  a  metropolis — fince  mild 
and  prudent  means  flill  fuffice  to  maintain  them  in  the 
habit  of  duty — both  the  fuperiors  in  church  and  Hate 
have  to  anfwer,  in  fome  meafure,  fof  the  corruption  of  • 
\heir  manners  and  difpofitions. 

CHAPTER . 

*  This  mafs  is  coM«ionSy  called  9  low  maf?. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS, 

CHAPTER     XI 


That  the  Jingle  idea  of  a  God,  is  afiifficient 
Jupport  of  Morality. 


AFTER 'having  fhown  that  morality  has  need  of 
a  fupernatural  fupport,  you  have  reafon  to  ex- 
pect, that  I  fliould  explain  the  intimate  and  immediate 
relation,  which  unites  religion  to  the  love  of  virtue, 
and  the  observance  of  order.  1  will  endeavour,  then, 
to  difculs  this  importan-t  queflion  :  and  in  order  to  ar- 
rive at  the  truth,  I  {hall  follow,  firft,  the  courfe  of 
thofe  firnple  fentiments,  and  natural  thoughts,  which 
guide  the  mind  and  the  heart  of  man,  in  every  climate 
and  country  under  heaven. 

It  is  eafy  to  unite  all  the  moral  legiflation,  and  the 
entire  fyfteni  of  our  duties,  by  means  only  of  the  idea 
of  a  God. 

The  univerfe',  notwithflanding  its  magnificence  and 
its  immenfity,  would  be  a  mere  nothing,  if  its  Supreme 
Author  had  rot  peopled  it  with  intelligent  beings,  ca- 
pable of  contemplating  fo  many  wonders,  and  of  re- 
ceiving happinefs  from  them.  But  the  faculties  with 
which  we  are  endowed,  the  confcioufnefs  of  poiTeffing 
ihem,  and  the  liberty  to  aft,  all  announce  to  us,  that  we 
are  united  to  a  grand  combination,  that  we  have  a  pan 
to  take  on  the  va(l  flage  of  the  world.' 

The  moft  fimple  reafon,  that  which  refembles  in- 
ilincl,  would  have  been  fufficient  to  enable  us  to  take 
care  of  the  body,  and  to  have  concentred  us  in  our- 
felves  :  more  would  not  have  been  necefla'ry  for  thofe 
who  have  fo  little  to  do.  Thus,  when  I  fee  that  the 
mind  is  iufceptible  of  continual  improvement — when 
J  fee  that  men  enjoy  the  power  of  ailillirig  each  other, 
ind  of  communicating  their  ideas  in  a  manner  fo  much 
vjperbr  to  other  animals — when  1  fix  my  attention  on 

our. 


ti-6'        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

our  focial  difpofitions,  and  on  all  the  relative  qualities- 
which  compofe  our  nature— I  cannot  avoid  thinking, 
that  we  have  a  plan  of  conduft  to  follow  towards  oth- 
ers, and  that  in  our  pilgrimage  on  earth  we  muft  be 
circumfpefl,  having  obftacles  to  conquer,  facrifices  to 
make,  and  obligations  to  fulfil. 

Man  then  appear  to  be  led  to  religion  by  the  mofl 
excellent  gifts  of  nature,  and  by  all  that  they  have  in 
them  of  the  fublime.  But  we  ought  to  remark,  as  a 
lingular  refemblance,  that  their  wants  allb,  and  their 
extreme  weaknefs,  lead  them  to  the  fame  objeft. 

Whatever  may  be  my  emotions  v/hen  I  reflect  OR 
the  prefcnt  imperious  laws,  to  which  I  am  obliged  to 
fubrnit— and  when  I  recal  to  mind  the  grandeur  and 
magnificence  which  I  have  been  a  witneis  of — I  raife 
continually  my  foul  towards  the  Sovereign  Director  of 
events,  and  am  led  by  inftinft,  as  well  as  by  a  rational 
fentiment,  to  addrefs  my  prayers  to  him.  It  appears 
to  the  unfortunate,  when  they  view  fo  many  wonders 
which  their  undemanding  cannot  grafp,  that  fo  little 
Is  wanting  to  guard  them  from  the  dangers  which  threat- 
en them,  they  implore  the  commiferation  of  him,  wliofe 
formidable  power  burfls  from  all  fides.  But,  while 
they  admire  and  adore,  they  muft  imitate  his  perfec- 
tions, and  not  expecl  mercy  when  they  {how  none. 
Purity  of  heart  only  can  render  an  intercourfe  with 
the  Supreme  Being  interefting  ;  and  prayers  are  mere- 
ly a  folemn  kind  of  mockery — when  they  do  not  pro- 
duce virtue  and  forbearance,  when  they  do  not  render 
us  kindly  affefted  to  each  other.  Our  very  flaie  of 
dependence,-our  wants  and  weaknefles,  fhould  bind  us- 
to  thofe  beings,  who  equally  fiiare  the  blefiings  fo  lib- 
erally beftowed^  and  have  the  fame  evils  to  endure. 
Thus  difcoatent,  the  fear  of  futurity,  the  anxiety  cauf- 
ed  by  misfortunes,  all  the  fentiments,  which  engage 
men  to  diflurb  focial  order,  take  another  ckara&er,  or 
are  at  leaft  fenfibly  modified  ;  when,  from  their  firft 
fuffering,  they  can  elevate  their  wifties  to  God,  but 
dare  not  doit,  with  a  heart  lullied  by  criminal  inten- 
tions. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  117 

It  is  not  only  prayer  which  leads  us  to  religion  j 
another  communication  with  the  Supreme  Being, 
gratitude,  produces  the  fame  effeft.  A  man,  perfuaded 
of  the  exiftcnce  of  a  fovereign  power,  and  who  g!a«U 
ly  connects  with  the  divine  protection  his  fuccefs  and 
bappinefs,  feels,  at  the  fame  time,  a  defire  to  exprefs 
his  gratitude  :  and  not  being  able  to  do  any  thing  for 
him  who  beftows  all.  he  feeks  fo  form  an  idea  of  the 
perfections  of  that,  Supreme  Being,  in  order  to  com- 
prehend the  fyitem  of  conduft  moil  conformable  to  bia 
attributes.  At  firlt,  what  reflections  poflefs  our  mind, 
what  emotions  agitate  our  fouls,  when  we  contemplate, 
ihe  univerfe — when  we  refpeftfuliy  admire  that  mag- 
nificent harmony,  \vhich  is  the  incomprehensible  re- 
fult  of  an  innumerable  multitude  of  different  powers  ? 
Struck  with  this  vaft  whole,  where  we  difcover  sa 
agreement  fo.peifec\  how  is  it  podible  for  us  to  avoid 
confideripg  order  as  adiftincl.  mark  of  the  wifdom  and 
of  the  defign  of  omnipotence  ?  And  how  is  it  pofli- 
ble  for  us  not  to  think  that  we  render  him  the  moft 
worthy  homage,  at  the  time  we  make  ufe  of  the  free 
intelligence  which  he  has  endowed  us  with  ?  Then 
iu  the  cosnpofition  of  a  focial  ftrufture,  a  work  which 
has  been  entrufled  to  us,  we  mall  try  to  penetrate  the 
ideas  of  wifdom  and  order,,  of  which  all  nature  prefents 
fuch  a  grand  example  ;  then,  in  eflablifhing  the  rela- 
tions which  unite  men,  we  (hall  carefully  fludy  the 
laws  of  moral  order,  and  we  (hall  find  them  all  found- 
ed on  the  reciprocation  of  duties,  which  fubjeft  to  a 
regular  movement  different  jarring  perfonal.  intereils. 
In  fhort,  the  idea  of  a  God,  Creator.  Regenerator,  and 
Preferver  cf  the  Univerie,  by  invariable  laws,  and  by 
a  train  of  the  fame  cajifes  and  the  fame  effefts,  feem$ 
10  call  us,  to  the  conception  of  an  univerfal  morality^ 
wHich,  in  imitation  of  the, unknown  fprings  of  the  na- 
tural world,  may  be  as  the  neceflary  tie  of  this  fuc- 
ceffion  of  intelligent  beings,  who  always,  with  the, 
fame  paffions,  come  to  pafs  and  repafs  oi>  the  earth,  to 
feekt  or  to  flee  from,  to  aflift,  or  to  hurt  each  other, 
according  to  the  ftrength  or  the  weaknefs  of  the  knot 
which  unites  them,  and  according  to  the  wifdom  or  in 


n8         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OB 

confiftency  of  the  principles  which  direft  their"  opin* 
ions. 

The  attentive  ftudy  of  man  and  of  his  nature  ought  to 
eontribute  to  confirm  in  us  the  idea  which  wehavejuft 
pointed  o-ut.  We  cannot,  in  faft,  confider  the  prodig- 
ious difference  which  exifts  between  the  minds  and 
characters  of  men — we  cannot  fix  our  attention  on  the 
length  to  which  this  difference  may  be  carried,  by 
the  perfectibility  of  which  they  are  iufceptible— -we 
cannot,  in  fhort,  reflect  on  alike  conftitution — without 
Wing  induced  to  think,  that  the  cotmterpoife  of  the£e 
extraordinary  mean*  of  force  and  ufurpation  muft  pro- 
ceed from  reafon,  from  that  (i-ngular  authority  which 
a'one  can  eftabliih,  between  men,  relations  of  jufhce 
and  convenience,  proper  to  maintain  an  equilibrium 
and  harmony  in  the  midit  of  fo  many  difparities.  It 
is  thus,  that'  refpeft  for  morality  feems  evidently  to 
make  a  part  of  the  general  view  arid  primitive  idea  of 
theSupremeDifpoferof  th-Miniverfe.  And  what  pleafure 
fliallwe  not  find  in  the  perluafion,  that  the  cultivation  of 
virtue,  the  obfervance  of  order,  offers  us  the  means  of 
pleafing  our  Divine  Benefa&or!  It  is  by  that  alone 
we  can  hope  to  concur,  however  feebly,  in  the  execu- 
tion of  his  grand  defigns  :  and  in  the  centre  of  fo  ma- 
ny bleflingSj  furrounded  by  &>  many  figns  of  a  particu- 
lar protection, how  highly  ought  we  to  val'Je  this  means 
of  communication  with  th*  Author  of  our  exiftence  ? 
Thus,  then,  the  homage  of  adoration  and  gratitude, 
which  we  render  to  the  Deity,  leads  us  to  a  fentiment 
of  refpecl  for  the  laws  of  morality  :  and  this  fentiment,. 
in  its  turn,  ferves  continually  to  maintain  in  us  the 
idea  of  a  Supreme  Being. 

Independent  of  the  reflexions  which  we  have  ju£ 
prefented,  morality,  confidered  in  all  its  extent,  has 
need  of  being  ftrengthened  hy  this  difpofition  of  the 
foul,  which  makes  us  interefled  in  the  happinefs  of 
others  :  and  it  is,  befides,  one  of  the  molt  giorious 
perfections  of  the  Deity,  that  we  find  the  firft  model 
of  this  precious  fenument.  Yes.  we  cannot  deny  it:. 
either  our  exiftence  proceeds  from  no  caufe,  or  we 
c..%3  it  to  the  goodneis  of  the  Supreme  Being.  Life, 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  119 

ionic  will  fay.  undoubtedly  is  a  mixture  of  pains  and 
pleafures  :  bur,  if  we  be  candid.  \vc  fliail  confefs,  that 
thofe  moments,  when  it  ceafes  to  appear  to  us  a  bene- 
fit, do  not  often  occur  in  life.  In  youth,  exigence  is 
thought  the  greatett  blelhng  :  and  the  other  feafons  of 
life  offer  pleafures  lefs  animated,  certainly,  but  which 
agree  better  with  the  prcgrefs  of  cur  undemanding, 
and  theincreafe  of  our  experience. 

It  is  true,  that  in  order  to  free  ourfelves  from  a 
fentiment  of  gratitude,  we  often  think  that  we  would 
not  accept  of  a  renewal  of  life,  on  condition  <>f  our 
running  over  a  fecend  time  our  career,  and  returning 
Rep  by  ilep  in  the  fame  track.  But  we  mould  con- 
fider,  that  we  do  not  fix  a  juii  value  on  the  benefits 
which  we  have  received:  for  when  we  take  a  retro- 
ipeclive  view  of  life,  we  fee  it  firipped  of  its  two  prin- 
cipal ornaments,  curiofity  and  hope:  and  it  is  not  in 
this  ftate  that  it  was  given  to  us,  ami  that  we  have  en- 
jcyed  it. 

It  is  perhaps,  not  in  our  power  to  replace  ourfelves, 
by  contemplation,  in  the  fituation  where  the  imagina- 
tion made  our  chief  pleafure;  a  flight  breath  has  eafi- 
ly  effaced  it  from  our  memory.  It  is  evident  that  we 
enjoy  life;  becaufe  we  look  forward  with  affright  to 
the  moment  when  we  (hall  be  forced  to  renounce  jr. 
But  as  this  happinefs  is  ccmpofed  of  prefent  pleafures, 
and  thofe  which  we  anticipate,  we  teafe  to  be  good 
judges  of  the  value  of  life,  when  this  future  piofpccl  is 
not  presented  to  our  eyes,  but  under  the  form  of  the 
paft  ;  for  we  know  not  how  to  appreciate,  with  z  Ian- 
gui-fhing  recollection,  that  which  we  have  loved  in  the 
moment  of  hope. 

Phyfical    evils   are  not  either  the  end  or  the  condi- 
tion of  our  nature  ;  they  are  its  accidents.      The  hap- 
pinefs of  infancy,  which    {hows  in  its  primitive  purity 
the  works  of  the  Deity,  vihbly  point  out  the  goodneis 
of  the   Supreme   Being  :   and   how  can  we    avoid  be- 
lieving', that  we  owe  cur  origin  to  a  benevolent  defign, 
(ince  it  is  a  defire  of  happinefs,  which  has  been  given  % 
*.o  ferve  as  the  motive  to  all  our  actions?    Wefhculd,  ' 
i*xlee.d.,  fpeak  well  of  )ifcf  if  we  bad  not  corrupted  its 


luo         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

comforts  by  artificial  fentiments,  which  we  have  fubfti- 
tuted  inftead  of  nature — if  we  had  not  fubmitted  fo 
many  realities  to  pride  and  vanity — if,  inftead  of  aflilt- 
ang  each  other  to  be  happy,  we  had  not  employed  our 
thoughts  to  make  others  fubmit  to  us.  Undoubtedly 
there  are  fome  fufferings  annexed  to  our  exiftence  ;  as 
in  the  natural  world  there  are  apparent  defects.  Let 
us  employ  our  minds  on  the  moft  exalted  fubjecls  ; 
and  we  (hall  no  longer  be  a  prey  to  envy  and  difcon- 
tent. 

It  is  on  the  confideration  of  detached  events — it  is 
in  fome  particular  circumftance,  that  we  raife  doubts 
about  the  goodnefs  of  God  :  but  we  immediately  dif- 
cern  it,  when  we  compare  particulars  that  wound  us? 
with  the  great  whole,  of  which  they  make  a  part :  we 
difcover  then,  that  the  misfortunes  which  we  are  fb 
quickly  offended  with,  area  iimple  appendage  of  a 
general  fyftem,  where  all  the  characters  of  a  benefi- 
cent intelligence  are  evidently  traced.  It  is  neceflary, 
then,  to  view  the  whole  6f  life,  in  order  to  difcover 
the  intention  ef  the  Author  of  nature  ;  and  in  meditat- 
ing in  this  manner,  we  (hall  return  always  to  a  fenti- 
jr.ent  of  refpeft  and  gratitude.  This  fimple  idea  is 
very  extenfive  in  its  application  :  it  teems  to  me,  above 
all,  that  it  fervcs  to  confele  us  under  the  ills  of  life: 
the  man,  who  is  penetrated  by  it,  can  fay  to  himfelf ; 
"The  tranfitory  evil,  to  which  I  am  fubjeft,  is  per- 
<{  haps  one  of  the  inevitable  effects  of  this  univerfal 
*{  harmony,  the  moft.  rsobie  and  the  mod  exfeniive  of 
*c  all  conceptions.  Thus,  in  the  moments  when  I  be- 
*f  moan  my  fate,  I  oaght  not  to  think  myfelf  forfaken, 
(i  I  ought  not  to  accufe  him,  whofe  infinite  wifdom  is 
*'  prefent  to  my  view,  htm  whofe  general  laws  have  fo 
Cl  ofien  appeared  to  me  a  vifible  exprefiion  of  real 
•<*  goodneis." 

it  is  in  vain,  fonie  will  fay,  it  is  in  vain  that  you 
ivould  wifli  to  make  us  attend  to  thefe  confiderations. 
We  only  remark,  that  our  earthly  happinefs  is  .at  lealt 
inferior  to  that  which  our  imagination  io  rcadilv  fi-i;ng 
the  pifture  of  :  and  we  do  not  perceive,  in  fuch  ad-.f- 
poiition,  the  union  of  perfections,  which  ought  to  be 
afcribed  to  the  Supreme  Beirg. 


"RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  i2l 

This  objection  is  prefented  under  different  forms,  in 
the  writings  of  all  the  enemies  to  religion:  and  they 
•fcave  drawn  confequences,  fometimes  againft  the  good- 
refs  of  God,  his  power,  his  wildom,  and  juftice.  It 
is  neceffary,  clearly  to  explain  this  difficulty,  to  be  in 
a  ftate  to  form  to  ourfelves  an  idea  of  the  perfection  of 
an  infinite  being  :  but  in  all  our  attempts,  we  only  car- 
ry to  the  extreme  every  quality  which  we  conceive  : 
inftead  of  that,  perfection  in  the  works  of  the  Cr-.>tor, 
probably  tonfilh  in  a  kind  of  gradation  and  harmony, 
the  fecret  of  which  We  cannot  either  embrace,  or  pen- 
etrate :  and  we  ought  flill  more  to  be  on  our  guard, 
when  we  form  any  conception  of  the  eflence  of  the 
JJeity  ;  as,  by  confining  ourfelves  folely  to  reconcile 
his  fovereign  power  with  his  perfect  goodneis,  we  fhould. 
never  fix  the  boundary  when  thefe  two  properties  will 
be  in  an  equilibrium  :  for  after  having  cxhaufted  eve- 
ry fuppofition,  v/e  might  fiill  afk,  why  the  number  of 
National  beings  is  not  more  extended  ?  We  might  afk, 
xvhy  every  grain  of  land  was  not  one  of  thofe  beings  ? 
Why  there  is  ncu  a  number  equal  to  that  infinite  divif- 
fbility,  of  which  we  form  the  idea  ?  In  fliort,  from  ex- 
treme to  extreme,  and  always  in  arguing  on  the  fove- 
reign power,  the  leaft  inanimate  atom,  the  leaf!  void  in 
nature,  would  appear  a  boundary  to  thegoodnefs  of  the 
Supreme  Being.  We  fee,  then,  to  what  a  point  we 
may  wander,  when  we  abandon  common  fenfe  for 
the  vague  excursions  of  a  mataphyfical  fpirit. 

I  think,  if  no  other  proofs  could  be  found,  the  pow- 
er of  God  would  t>c  firfficient  to  demonftrate  his  good- 
nefs;  for  this  p6wer  informs  us,  every  inftant,  that  if 
fhe  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  world  had  intended  the  mif- 
ery  of  rational  beings,  he  would  have  had,  to  fulfil  his 
attention,  means  as  rapid  as  numerous.  He  needed 
not  have  created  worlds,  nor  have  thcni  fo  convenient 
and  beautiful  :  a  terrific  gulph,  and  eternal  dai'knefs, 
might  have  been  ftifficiem  to  coiieft  together  thofe  un- 
fortunate beings,  and  rnake  them  feel  their  mifery. 
JLet  us  not  dwell  on  thefe  gloomy  fubjecls  :  let  us  fol- 
low a  j aft  emotion  of  gratitude.  We  fliall  be  eager 
•tlicti  to  render  homage  to  iliat  indelible  character  of 


^2         .OF  TIl^  IMPORTANCE  OF 

Jove  and  goodnefs  which  we  fee  (lamped  on  all  our  na- 
ture. An  unknown  power  opens  our  eyes  to  the  light, 
and  permits  us  to  view  the  wonders  of  the  univerfe. 
It  awakens  in  as  thofe  enchanting  "fcnfations  which 
iirft  point  out  '.he  charms  of  life.  It  enriches  us  with 
that  intelleclui.  gift  which  re-affembles  round  us  palt 
ages,  and  the  time  to  come.  It  confers,  in  an  early 
hour,  an  empire,  by  endowing  us  with  thofe  two  fub- 
Jime  faculties,  will  and  liberty .  In  fiiort,  it  renders 
us  fenfible  to  the  real  pleafure  of  loving  and  being 
.beloved  :  and  when,  by  the  effeft  ofa  general  plan9 
of  which  we  have  but  an  imperfe£t  conception,  it 
fpreads  here  and  there  fome  difficulties  in  the  road  of 
life — it  feems  to  wifh  to  foften  them,  by  fhowing  us 
always  the  future  through  the  enchanting  medium  of 
<he  imagination.  Could  it  be  then  without  any  iii- 
tereft  or  goodnefs,  that  this  magnificent  fyftem  was 
conceived,  and  preferved  by  fo  many  fuperb  clemon- 
ilrations  of  wifdom  and  power  ?  What  fhouid  we  be 
in  the  light  of  the  Eternal,  if  he  did  not  love  us  ?  We 
*io  not  adorn  his  majeflic  univerfe,  or  lend  to  the 
«iawn  its  magnificent  colours  :  neither  have  we  cover- 
ed the  earth  with  a  verdant  carpet,  or  bid  the  celeitial 
bodies  revolve  in  the  immenfe  expanfe.  He  afked  not 
council  of  us.  We  .fhouid  be  nothing  in  his  eyes,  if 
lie  were  indifferent  toourgratiiude,  and  if  he  took  not 
any  pleafure  in  the  happinefs  of  his  creatures. 

in  fhortj  were  we  to  turn  our  attention  from  fo  ma- 
ny linking  proofs  of  the  goodnefs  of  God— -were  they 
to  be  effaced  from  our  memory' — we  fhouid  flill  find, 
-in  the  receffes  of  our  heart,  a  fufficient  evidence  of 
Jthis  comfortable  truth  ;  we  ihould  perceive  that  we 
are  good  and  affectionate,  when  not  perverted  by  paf- 
lion  ;  and  we  fhouid  be  led  to  think,  that  fuch  an  in- 
clination, in  beings  who  have  received  every  thing, 
anuft  neceffarily  be  the  feal  of  their  Divine  Author. 
In  order  to  exalt  this  fentiment,  y-R  piuft  refer  it  con- 
tinually to  the  idea  ofa  Supreme  Being  ;  for  there  :s, 
\ve  doubt  nor,  a  correlpondence  of  inftincl;  and  reflex- 
£on  between  our  virtue  and  the  perfeftior.s  of  him  who 
J£  ihc  origin  of  all  things  ;  and  provided  \ve  do 

rcfi  I 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  123 

refift  our  natural  emotions,  we  (hall  perceive,  from 
diofe  very  perfe&ions,  all  that  is  fufficient  to  excite 
our  wormip  and  adoration  ;  above  all,  whatever  is 
Decenary  to  ferve  as  an  example  for  our  conduft,  anci 
to  afford  principles  of  morality. 

I  ought  now  to  examine  feme  important  objec- 
tions ;  for  why  fhould  I  fear  to  prefent  them  ?  A 
love  for  fyftems  and  opinions  ought  not  to  exifl,  in 
treating  a  fubjeft  on  which  (o  many  have  expatiated, 
and  which  belongs  equally  to  all  men  ;  though  we  are 
allowed,  when  feekmg  truth  eagerly,  to  vvilh  to  find 
it  united  to  the  fentiments  which  form  our  happinefs., 
and  the  principles  which  are  the  foundation  of  public 
ofder. 

We  admit,  fay  fome,  that  there  are  many  perfec- 
tions peculiar  to  the  Supreme  Being,  the  fludy  and 
knowledge  of  which  ought  to  ferve  to  fullain  the 
laws  of  moralitv  :  but  one  of  the  efiential  properties 
of  the  divine  effence  overfets  the  whole  ftrutlure  ;  it 
is  prcfcience  :  for,  as  God  knows,  beforehand,  what 
we  are  to  d6,  it  follows,  that  all  our  a&ions  are  irrc- 
vokably  determined  ;  and  thus  man  is  not  free.  Andv 
jf  fuch  be  his  condition,  he  deferves  neither  praife  nor 
cenfure  :  he  has  no  means  ofpleafing  or  difp leafing 
the  Supreme  Being  ;  and  the  idea*  of  good  and  evi!, 
of  virtue  and  vice,  are  abfolutely  chimerical.  I  fli.i!), 
at  firfl,  make  a -very  fimple  reply- to  this  objection,  but 
a  very  decifive  one  :  it  i.>,  that  if,  againft  appearances 
you  fhould  happen  to  pcrluade  me,  that  there  now  ex - 
ills  an  abfolute  contradiction  between  the  liberty  of 
man,  and  the  preference  of  the  Deity,  it  is  on  the  na- 
ture and  extent  of  this  prefcience  that  I  (hall  raife  my 
doubts ;  for,  forced  to  choofe,  I  fhould  rather  miftruli 
the  judgment  of  my  own  mind,  than  that  of  an  inter- 
nal perfuafion.-  It  is  by  thefe  fame  confidera- 
lions,  that  it  will  always  beimpoffible  to  prove  to  men 
that  they  are  not  free:  we  could  only  fucceed  with 
the  alfiftance  of  reafoning  :  and  reafoning  being  alrea- 
dy a  beginning  of  art,  a  kind  of  exterior  combination 
of  reflexions,  this  means,  in  fome  meafu^e  out  of  us, 
would  not  have  power  to  eradicate  a  femiment  which 
feems  the  firil  that  we  are  confcious  of, 


1^4        OF  THE^IMPORTANCE  OF 

We  foondifcover  the  limits  of  our  faculties,  in  ths  • 
efforts  v/e  make  to  acquire  a  juft  idea  of  the  divine  pre- 
fcience; we  can  very  well  ftippofe,  that  God  forefeet 
with  certainty  what  we  only  conjecture  about  ;  and  ia 
extending  without  end  the  bounds  which  occur  to  our, 
mind,  we  (hail  proportion,  in  our  imagination, the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Creator  to  the  immehfity  offpace  a'ndtoths, 
infinity  of  time  :  but  beyond  thefe  vague  ideas  we  {hall 
err  in  all  our  fpeculations.  How  is  it  poffible,  that  men, 
who  krlow  not  even  the  nature  of  their  own  fouls,  fliould 
be  able  to  determine  the  nature  of  prefcience  ?  How  is 
it  poffible,  that  they  can  know  whet  her  this  prefcience  be, 
the  effe£l  of  a  rapid  calculation  of  him,  who  embraces  at. 
one  glance  the  relations  and  effects  of  evety  moral  and, 
natural  caufe  r  How  can  they  difcern,  whether  this 
prefcience,  in  an  Infinite  Being,  1st  diflinft  from  fim-. 
pie  knowledge?  How  can  they  know  whether  that 
Being,  by  a  property  beyond  our  conception,  do  not 
exift  before  and  after  events,  whether  he  be  not,  in 
fome  manner,  the  intellectual  time,  and  whether  our 
dtvifiohs  of  years  and  ages,  would  not  difappear  before, 
his  immoveable  exiftence  and  eternal  duration  ? 

It  rcfults,  however}  from  thefe  confiderations,  that 
on  account  of  our  extreme  ignorance,  we  cannot  ac- 
curately define  prefcience  :  but  we  are  reduced  to  ex-. 
amine  whether  this  prefcience,  confidered  in  a  general 
manner,  be  incompatible  with  the  liberty  of  man. 

This  opinion,  1  think,  fhould  nqt  be  adopted.  Pre-  . 
fcience  does  not  determine  future  events ;  for  the  mere 
knowledge  of  the  future  makes  not  the  future.  It  is 
not  prefcience  which  neceflitates  the  actions  of  men  ; 
becaufe  it  does  not  change  the  natural  order  of  things  ; 
but  ail  future  events  are  fixed,  whether  forefeen  or 
not ;  for  conftraint  and  liberty  conduct  equally  to  a 
pofitive  term:  thus,  all  that  will  happen  is  as  immu- 
table as  that  which  is  paft  ;  fince  the  prefent  was  the 
future  of  yefterday,  and  will  be  to-morrow  the  paft, 
It  is  then  abftra£Hy  certain,  that  an  event,  either  fore- 
feen or  not,  will  take  place  fome  time  ;  but  if  liberty- 
be  not  contrary  to  this  inevitable  certainty,  how  would  it 
be  more  fo,  becaufe  there  exiHs  a  Being  who  is  ac- 
quainted previoufly  with  ihe  precife  nature  of  events  ? 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  125 

We  may  then  fay,  with  truth,  that  the  knowledge  of 
the  future  ;'$  no  more  an  obftacle  to  liberty,  than  the 
remembrance  of  the  pail  ;  and  prophecies,  iike  hifto- 
ries,  are  only  recitals,  whofe  place  is  not  the  fame  in 
the  order  of  time  ;  but  not  having  any'  influence  on 
events,  do  conttrain  the  will,  cannot  enflave  the  fenti- 
inents,  or  fubjeft  men  to  the  law  of  necedify. 

We  will  confefs,  however,  that  if  prefcience  were 
founded  on  the  pouYoility  of  calculating  the  aftions  of 
men,  like  the  movements  of  an  organized  machine, 
liberty  could  not  exiu1  :  but  then  it  would  not  be  pre- 
fcience which  oppofed  this  liberty  ;  .it  would  be  be- 
caufe  we  are  automatons  ;  for  with  fuch  a  conilitution} 
we  fliould  be  without  liberty,  were  even  the  Supreme 
Being  not  to  have  any  knowledge  of  futurity. 

It  is  in  vain,  in  order  to  convince  us  we  arc  not 
free,  that  fome  would  reprefent  us  as  neceflarily  fub- 
rnitting  to  the  impulfe  of  various  exterior  objefts  ; 
comprehending,  atnong  thofe  objects,  every  thing  thac 
is -fubtle  in  moral  ideas,  uniting  them  under  the  gene- 
ral name  of  motives,  and  giving  afterwards  to  theft: 
motives  a  phyfical  force  which  we  are  bound  to  obey. 
But  to  be  free,  is  it  neceflary  that  we  aft  without  mo- 
iives  ?  then  man  would  be  indeed  evidently  a  piece  of 
mecbanifm.  ft  is  certain,  that  we  are,  in  all  our  ac- 
tions, determined  by  re  a  f on,  tafte,  or  a  caufe  of  pref» 
crence  :  but  it  is  our  mind  which  comprehends  thefc* 
various  confiderations,  which  weighs,  .  compares,  and 
modifies  :  ir  is  our  mind  which  linens  to  the  counfeis 
of  virtue,  and  which  replies  to  the  language  of  our 
paffions  :  it  is  ir.  order  to  enlighten  itfetf,  that  it  bor- 
rows from  the  memory  the  fuccoars  of  experience.— . 
It  is  then  our  mind  which  prepares,  compofes,  and  im- 
proves every  thing  which  we  term  motives  ;  and  it  js 
after  this  intelleftual  labour  that  we  aft.  There  is  too 
much  order,  unity  and  harmony  in  our  thoughts,  to 
allow  us  to  fuppofo  them  the  mere  effeft  of  exterior 
objefts  ;  which,  under  the  form  ot  ideas,  come  without 
order  to  imprefs  themfclves  on  our  brain  ;  and  until 
we  are  made  acquainted  with  the  works  of  chaos,  we 
Aall  believe,  with  reafon,  that  every  where  there  j» 

L    3, 


126         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

that  unity,  that  order  ;  that  there  is  a  faculty  capably  • 
of  re-aflembling  every  thing  that  is  fcattered,  and  unit- 
ing to  one  end  all  that  is  mixed  without  defign. 

As  foon  as  we  are  impelled  to  believe,  that  there  is 
a  matter  of  a!!  our  perceptions,  and  that  we  feel  this 
znafter  aft.  ho*  if  it  poihble  not  to  be  certain  that  is 
is  our  mind  which  afts  ?  It  is  then,  in  breaking 
loofe  from  its  operations,  that  we  are  ftripped  of  our 
liberty,  and  that  we  at  length  fuppofe,  thai  our  will  is 
the  neceflary  confcquence  of  all  exterior  objefts,  as  if 
it  were  the  colours,  and  not  the  painter,  which  pro« 
duced  a  picture.  However,  if  we  fecure  our  mind 
from  that  dependence,  to  which  forne  wifh  to  reduce 
it,  our  aftions  will  not  obey  thefe  irrefiRible  emotions ; 
for  if  they  grant,  that  we  have  liberty  of  thought,  wei 
fcave  free  will. 

,  We  ought  to  confider  our  fenfes  as  meffengers,. 
which  bring  to  our  mind  new  fubjefts  of  reflexion  :— 
"Lut  they  are  in  ftich  a  manner  fubordinute  to  the  fub- 
lime  part  of  ourfelves,  that  they  aft  only  under  direc- 
tion. Sometimes  ihe  ruling  principle  commands  them 
(o  bring  reprefentations  of  the.  beauties  of  nature  ;  to 
examine  afliduoufly  the  regifters  of  the  human  mind  ; 
to  take  theru'eand  the  compafs,  and  render  an  exa£l  ac- 
count of  that  which  it  defires  to  know  with  precifion. 
Sometimes  they  are  taught  to  acquire  more  power  :  and 
when  the  foul  wiihes  to  communicate  with  men,  when? 
it  wiflies  to  addrefs  pofterity,  it  orders  them  to  perpet- 
uate, in  indelible  characters,'  all  that  it  has  maturely- 
combined,  all  that  it, has  difcovered,  and  all  it  hopes  to 
add  to  the  treafures  of  our  knowledge.  Is  it  not  the- 
maiter,  rather  than  the  (lave  of  our  (enfec5  or  the  biiul 
play  of  their  caprice  ? 

There  is,  betides,  another  obfervation,  which  feems 
lo  contrail  with  the  abfoiuee  empire^  that  lome  are  • 
milling  to  grant  to  exterior  objefts  over  the  powers  of 
our  foul  ;  for  it  is  in  the  fiicnce  of  meditation,  that 
the  aftion  of  our  mind  is  not  interrupted.  We  expe- 
rience, th.:t  we  have  the  power  of  recalling  paft  ideas, 
and  that  ws  can  -:onneft  thofe  ideas,  with  ihe  profpe^t 
«f  the  future,  and  tp  various  iinaginary  rircumfiances 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  147; 

9-f  which  we  compofe  this  pifture.  Our  reflexion  is 
then  the  refult,  but  not  the  work  of  thofe  exterior  oh-? 
j;efts  we  are  acquainted  with*  Thefe  two  words,  work 
and  refult,  which  in  fame  acceptations  have  a  great  re. 
femblance,  have  here  very  difteren.  nje^nings  ;  and  it 
is  only  in  confounding  them,  that  th-1  jbjeclion  againflr 
the  exigence  of  our  liberty  is  favoured.  We  cannot 
form  any  judgment,  without  previoufly  difcuffing  eve- 
ry argument  proper  to  throw  a  light  on  the  fubjecl  : 
and  the  refult  of  fuch  enquiries  determines  our  will. 
But  thefe  enquiries  are  themfelves  the  work  of  our 
mind. 

In  fliort,  all  the  degrees  which  lead   to   the  end  of 
our  intellectual  refearches,  are  fimple  antecedents,  and 
not  abiolute   motives.     There  is  in   the   operations  of. 
our  mind,  as  in  every  thing  which  is  not  immoveable,. 
a  train  of  caufes  and  effefts  :  but  this   train  does  not. 
aharafterize  neceflity  more  than  liberty. 
*  In  reltoring  thus  to  our  foul  its  original  dignity,  do- 
you  not  perceive    that,  we   approach  nearer  to  nature, 
than  in  adopting  thofe  fy Items  and  explications  which. - 
aflimilate  our  intellectual  faculties  to  the  regular  vibra- 
tions of   a  pendulum  ?   Or  would   you  like  better  Mill 
to  compare  them  to  thofe  li'tle  balls  which  go  out  of 
their  niches  to  ilrike  our  brain,  which  by  various  ram- 
locations,  produce  that  (hock  which  impels  our  will  ? 
I  fee,  in  all  this,  only  childifh  figures,, put  in  the  place 
of  thofe  names   which  indicate,    at  leaft,  by  their  ab« 
ii'radion,  the  indefinite  extent  of  the  ideas  which  they 
rtrprefenr,    and  the  refpeft  they  merit".      Jt  is   eafy  to 
call   a  motive  a  little  moving  ba!l«     It    is  eafy  to  call, 
uncertainty  or  repentance  the  combat  of  'two  of  thefe 
balls,  till  the  arrival  of  a  third  forms  a  determination, 
and  the  concurrence  of  many  to  the  fame  point  excites, 
in  us,  an  impetuous  paflion.     But  who  fees  rrot,   that, 
after  having  endeavoured   to  debafe    the  functions  of 
the  mind,  by  thefe  wretched  comparifons,  tha-difficul-  • 
ty  remains  uncliminifh'ed  ? 

In  thort,  if  the  medications  and  refearches  of  our 
siinds,  on  the  exigence  and  the  nature  of  our  liberty, 
jrcfent  us  only  impenetrable  clouds  and  obfcunty,  is 

" 


siS        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  "* 

it  not  fingular,  that,  in  the  midft  of  this  darknefs,  we" 
fliould  rejeft  all  the  information  of  our  mftinclive  fent- 
iments,  which  alone  can  clearly  explain  every  thing 
that  we  in  vain  fearch  for  by  other  means  ?  What 
Would  you  fay  of  -.  man  born  blind,  who  would  not 
be  dire£led  by  ti;c  voice  ?  We  are  afliiredly  better  in- 
ftrufted  in  the  conflitution  of  our  naiure  by  our  feel- 
ings, than  by  metaphyfical  arguments  :  they  compofe 
an  internal  part  of  the  eflfence  of  our  foul  ;  and  we 
ought  to  confider  them,  in  fome  meafure,  as  a  fally  of 
the  incomprehenfible  formation,  whofe  myfteries  we 
cannot  penetrate.  Such  a  doftrine,  which  came  to  us 
from  a  divine  hand,  is  more  deferving  of  confidence 
than  the  interpretation*  of  men.  There  are  fecrets 
which  philosophers  try  in  vain  to  explain  :  all  their 
efforts  are  ufelefs,  to  reprefent  by  comparifon,  that 
which  is  alone,  and  without  refemblance. 

One  would  think,  that  nature,  guefied  the  faife  rea- 
foning  which  would  miflead  us,  has  purpofely  beflowed 
an  inward  conviction  of  the  exigence  of  our  free  wil)? 
in  compofing  our  natural-  life  of  two  movements  very 
diftinft  :  one  depends  on  a  neceffity,  whofe  laws  we 
are  not  acquainted  with,  and  do  not  govern  ;  while 
the  other  is  entirely  fubjeft  to  the  government  of  our 
reafon.  Such  a  comparifon  would  be  fufficient  to 
convince  us,  if  we  lought  merely  for  the  truth. 

When  Spinofa  defired  to  throw  contempt  on  our 
inftinftive  perceptions,  he  faid,  it  is  the  fame  as  if  a 
weather-cock,  at  the  very  moment  it  was  the  play  thing 
of  the  winds,  believed  itfelf  to  be  the  caufe,  and  con- 
iequently  that  it  had  free  will.  What  fignifies  fuch 
an  argument,  unlefs  it  be  to  prove,  that  it  ispoflible  to 
fuppofe  a  fiftion  fo  perfeft,  tnat  li  would  apparently 
be  equivalent  to  a  realitv  ?  But  I  would  afk,  b/ 
\vhat  foolifh  defign  of  an  intelligent  being,  or  even  by 
what  fortuitous  aflembiage  of  blind  nature,  is  it,  that 
man  fhould  have  every  moment  a  will  precifely  con- 
formable to  his  actions,  if  there  be  not  a  real  corref* 
pomience  between  every  part  ? 

We  could  oppofe  to  the  hypothefis  of  Spinofa  an- 
•tbcr  argument,  which  would  lead  to  a  conclufion  ab- 

folutely 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  i-Q 

fdlutely  contrary  ;  that  is,  if  the  moft  apparent  liberty* 
may  be  only  a  fiction,  by  a  particular  concurrence  of 
our  will  with  an  aftion  ordained;  it  is  alfo  incontefti- 
ble,  that  were  we  to  fuppofe  the  exigence,  or  fimple 
pofiibility  of  a  free-will,  we  could  not  have  a  different- 
idea  of  it,  than  that  which  we  hav:  i'.-eady  ;  and  the 
liberty  of  God  hirafelf  would  not  appear  to  our  thoughts- 
under  any  other  form.  It  is  very  eflential  to  remark, 
that  when  we  refle£  about  our  faculties,  we  with  eafe 
imagine  a  fuperior  degree  of  intelligence,  of  knowledge, 
of  memory,  of  forefight,  and  of  every  other  property 
of  our  undemanding  ;  liberty  is  the  only  Dart  of  our- 
ielves  to  which  our  imagination  cannot  add  any  thing. 

I  (hall  not  purfue  other  fubtle  arguments,  which 
have  been  produced,  to  corroborate  my  opinion.  It 
is  not  to  fotne  men,  bui  to  all,  that  I  defire  to  fpeak  ; 
becaufe  I  wim  to  be  univerfally  uleful.  I  fhall  then* 
always  dwell  on  the  principal  reflexions,  whenever  they 
appear  tome  fufficient  to  influence  the  opinion  of  found 
minds,  and  to  fix  them  en  thofe  important  tuuhs  which 
are  the  furelt  foundation  of  public  happinefs.  Self- 
love  might  induce  many  to  follow  a  queiHon  as  far  as 
it  would  go,  and  vainly  glory  in  fpinning  it  out.  But 
felf-love,  applied  to  profound  meditations,  is  itfelf  a 
great  fubtihy. 

Let  us  examine  other  arguments  ufed  to  coinbat 
principles  which  we  have  eftablifhed.  It  is  in  vain, 
fome  will  fay,  to  endeavour  to  prove  the  exigence  of 
a  God,  as  the  real  (upport  of  the  laws  of  morality  ;  all 
this  fyflem  will  fall  to  pieces,  if  we  be  not  informed, 
at  the  fame  time,  in  what  manner  this  God  rewards 
and  punifhes. 

1  fliall  obferve  at  firft,  that  fuch  an  obje&ion  canno". 
make  a  very  deep  impreflion,  but  when  it  is  connected 
in  our  minds  with  fome  doubt  of  the  exiflence  of  a  Su- 
preme Being  :  a  queftion  that  1  fhail  not  yet  treat;  foe 
iuppofingan  internal  conviction  of  this  laft  truth,  fuppof- 
iog,in  all  its  force,  the  idea  of  a  God  prefent  to  our 
thoughts ;  1  afk,  whether  in  order  to  pleafe  him,  we  fhould 
npt  have  need  of  knowing  precifely  the  period  when  we 
Cpuld  perceive  diftinft  figns  of  bis  approbation  and  be- 


*30-       OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

neftcence  ?  I  afk  again,  whether,  to  avoid  incurring' 
jiiis  diipleafure.  it  would  be  equally  neccfTary  for  us  to 
know  how,  and  in  what  manner,  he  would  punifh  us? 
Undoubtedly  not  ;  for  in  taking  a  comprehensive  view 
of  the  rewards  arsd  punifhmenfs  which  may  proceed 
from  a  Supreme  Being,  ftruck  with  his  grandeur,  and 
allonifhcrl  by  his  power,  the  vague  idea  of  infinity 
would  obtrude  ;  and  this  idea,  fo  awful,  would  fuffice 
to  govern  our  fentimenir,.  and  fix  our  principles  of  con-' 
duel.  We  fhould  be  careful  not  to  propofe  condi- 
tions to  him  who  has  dra^n  us  out  of  nothing  :  anr! 
we  inouM  <vait  with  refpeci  for  the  moment,  when,  in 
his  profound  wifdom,  he  may  think  proper  to  make 
us  better  acquainted  with  his  attributes.  Men  may 
lay  to  each  other — "  Secure  my  wages  :  I  want  them 
on  fueh  a  day  :  JL  demand!  ihens  on  iuch  an  <hour  •/' 
they  barter  things  of  equal  value,  and  during  a  fhort 
fpacp  of  time  :  out  in  the  intercourfe  of  man  with  the 
I)eity,  what  a  difference  ! — The  creature  and  the 
Creator — the  child  of  dull  and  the  fource  of  life — a 

atom 
-uck 

by  the  contratt  !  How  then  ihould  we  adapt  to  fuch 
difprcport'ons  the  rules  and  notions  which  we  have 
introduced  into  our  trivia!  tranfaciions  ?  You  require, 
that  in  order  to  feel  the  -define  of  pleafing  the  Supreme 
Being,  he  fhould  every  moment  bettow  gifts  on  thofe, 
•who,  by  their  feiuiments  and  atlions,  appear  worthy 
of  his  goodnefs  :  and  to  infpire  the  feac» of  offending 
him,  you  w^fli  that,  without  delay,  he  wouH  let  his 
ven^eaace  crufh  the  wicked.  Certainly  you  would  be 
fcrupulous  obfervers  of  his  will  on  fuch  conditions  ; 
for  lefs  liable  hopes  and  fears  detain  you  fervilely  near 
amonarch  ;  ?,nd  i  may  venture  to  fay,  that  you  would ' 
be  equally  attentive  to  the  Ruier  of  the  world,  if,  in 
order  to  reward  or  punifli  you,  he  were  to  alter  the 
laws  of  mature. 

But  <do  we  not.   you  may  add,    fee  that   God  does 
not  interfere  in  any  manner  to  direct   things  here  be- 
low ?   You  do    noi   perceive  him  ;  but  do  you  more 
dearly  difcover  the  power  which  gives  life   and   mo- 
tion ? ' 


fleeting  moment  and   eternity— an  imperceptible  at 
and    the  Infinite  Reins;  ! — our  underftandimMs  ftn 


'RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS*  i# 

;-ion  ?  It  is  not  becaufe  he  does  not  exift,  but  becaufe 
he  is  above  the  flight  of  your  mind.  We  do  not  know  • 
what  to  fay  to  a  man  who  rejefts  the  opinion  of  the 
exiftenceofa  God;  for  without  tha'  guide,  all  our 
ideas  are  wandering,  and  have  not  ;n  other  connex- 
ion but  that  of  the  wildeft  imagination.  But  if  you 
grant,  that  the  world  had  an  origin,  if  you  fuppofe  a 
God,  Greater,  and  Preferver,  what  arguments  would 
you  ufe,  to  induce  us  tobelieve  that  this  God  has  no 
relation  to  us — that  he  does  not  take  any  p.otice  of  us 
— and  that  he  is  thus  feparated  from  the  ofhpripor  of 
his  inteliigence  and  love?  You  add,  vice  i^everv 
where  triumphant  :  an  honefl  man  often  languishes  in 
defpondency  and  obicuriry  ;  arid  you  cannot  reconcile 
this  injuflice  with  the  idea  of  a  Divire  Providence  ! 
One  may,  at  firfl  deny  the  affeiuon  which  forms  the 
bads  of  this  reproach^  or  difpuie  at  leaf!  ?heconfe-» 
quences  that  are  drawn  from  it.  Tbefc  ideas  of  tri- 
umph and  abatement,  of  fplendor  and  obfcurity,  are 
fometimes  very  foreign  to  the  internal  fentimentSj 
which  only  confhtute  happinefs  and  milery  :  and  for 
my  part,  1  am  perfuadcd,  that  if  we  take  for  a  rule  of 
comparison,  not  fume  particular  fituation,  or  fome 
icattered  events,  but  the  whole  of  life  and  the  gene- 
rality of  men  ;  we  (hall  then  hrd,  that  the  moil  con- 
fiant  fati&factjons  attend  thofe  minds  which  are  iiHed 
with  a  mild  piety,  firm  and  rational,  fuch  as  the  pure 
idea  of  the  Deity  ought  to  infpire  :  and  -1  am  equally 
perfuaded,  that  virtue  united  to  this  piety,  which 
Knows  how  to  foften  every  facrifice,  is  the  fafeft  guide 
in  the  path  of  life.  Perhaps,  ignorant  as  we  are  of  our 
r.ature  and  deilination,  it  is  not  our  iutereft  that  un- 
interrupted rewards  fnould  excite  us  to  virtue  ;  for  if 
this  viitue  were  our  title  and  hope  with  God  for  the 
j>refent,  and  the  time  to  ccme,  we  ought  not  to  defire, 
that  it  ihould  degenerate  into  an  evident  calculation, 
into  a  fentirnent  bordering  on  felfiflinsfs.  It  would 
.then  he  very  difucuit  to  give  a  proper  definition  of  lib- 
•city,  if,  by  the  effett  of  rapid  juttice,  a  conilant  propor- 
tion of  good  and  evil  accompanied  every  determina- 
^i  our  micti.  \Veihould  then,  ir.cfally,as  well 


*32         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

as  phyfically,  be  impelled  by  an  imperious  inftinft-; 
and  the  merit  of  our  aftions  would  be  absolutely  de- 
ftroyed. 

J  mean  by  all  tHs  to  afk,  what  would  be  our  merit  or 
demerit,  if  our  -in.  were  only  for  an  inftant,  and  if 
nothing  were  t^  ^oilow  ?  The  perfuafion  of  the  exitt* 
ence  of  a  God,  without  a  certainty  of  the  immor- 
tality of  our  foul,  cannot  Jmpofe  any  obligation  :  but 
the  real  connexion  between  thcfe  two  ideas  is  too  fre- 
quently overlooked. 

Undoubtedly,  left  to  our  underflanding,  this  word 
Certainty  is  not  made  for  us  ;  or  at  lead  is  not  appli, 
cable  to  our  relation  with  the  Deity,  and  to  the  judg- 
ment we  form  of  his  defigns  and  will.  We  are  too 
far  removed  from  the  high  and  lofty  One,  who  inha- 
bits eternity,  to  pretend  to  meafure  his  thoughts  by 
our  bounded  views.  They  are  covered  with  a  veil  ; 
and  we  always  obfcurely  difcern  that  which  is  hid  in 
the  depths  of  his  wifdom:  but  the  more  this  God, 
\vhom  we  adore,  cfcapes  by  his  immenfity  from  our  con- 
ceptions, the  lefs  have  we  a  right  to  limit  his  perfeclion$5 
in  order  to  refufe  him  the  power  of  tranfporting  eur  ex- 
iitence  beyond  the  narrow  circle  fubmitted  to  our 
view ;  and  I  know  not  how  it  would  be  poflible  to  per- 
f bade  us,  that  this  aftion  of  the  Deity  would  furpafs,  in 
grandeur,  the  creation  of  the  world,  or  the  formation  of 
animated  beings.  The  habit  of  obfervinga  great  won- 
der may  weaken  our  aitonifliment,  but  mould  not  erad* 
icate  our  admiration. 

We  cannot  reach,  but  by  reflexion,  to  thufe  events, 
of  which  the  future  is  ftill  the  depofitory.  But  if  eve- 
ry thing,  which  furrounds  us,  attcft  the  grandeur  of 
the  Supreme  Being — if  the  mind,  in  its  meditations, 
without  terror,  approach  the  confines  of  infinity — why 
pfBiOruii  that  he  can  perform  in  favour  of  men,  a  mag- 
nificent union  of  Omnipotence  and  perfect  goodnefs  P 
"Why  rejeft,  as  an  abfurd  confidence,  the  idea  of 
another  exiftence  ?  We  fee,  without  aftonifhmem, 
the  feeble  chryfalis  force  its  way  from  the  tomb  i< 
wove  for  iifeif,  and  appear  under  a  new  form.  We 
•  cannot  be  anticipated  witncflcs  of  the  perpetuity  of 

out 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  ,-js, 

"our  intelligence  :  but  its  vaft  extent  would  appear  to 
•us,  were  we  not  familiarized  with  it,  a  greater  phe- 
nomenon than  duration. 

In  fliort,  why  do  I  refift  an  ide.;  o*"  a  continuation 
of  exiftence,  f;nce  I  am  forced  to  :  ve  credit  to  my 
'birth  ?  There  is  a  greater  diftanct,  from  nothing  to 
life,  than  from  life  to  its  fequel  or  renewal  under  a 
new  form.  I  am  clearly  acquainted  with  the  com- 
mencement of  exiflence.  I  know  death  only  by  con- 
jecture. We  now  enjoy  the  light  and  bleflings  brought 
to  us  by  a  beneficent  heavenly  Teacher  ;  could  11  be, 
that  he  alone  would  be  a  ftranger  to  his  own  glory  and 
•virtues  ?  I  cannot  fay  why  this  contraft  makes  an  im- 
preflion  on  me  :  but  it  is  among  the  number  of  fuper- 
ficial  ideas  which  occur  to  rny  mind,  when  I  reflecl  on 
this  fubjeft. 

A  comforting  th'ought  flill  flrikes  me  ;  the  natural 
order  of  the  univerfe  appears  to  me  a  finiihed  fyflem. 
'We  perceive  a  perfect  regularity  between  the  revolu- 
tion of  the  heavenly  bodies,  an  invariable  fecceflion  in 
"vegetable  life,  an  alinoft  incredible  precifion  in  thar, 
immenfe  quantity  of  volatile  particles  fubjefted  to  the 
laws  of  affinity  ;  and  think  every  thing  in  its  right 
place,  and  that  all  fulfil  exaftly  their  deflination  in 
the  grand  and  complete  fyftern  of  nature. 

But  if  we  turn  afterwards  cur  attention  to  the  mul- 
titude of  beings  inferior  to  men,  we  fhaii  difcover  alfo, 
that  their  aft;on  is  as  complete  and  conformable  in  cv. 
'cry  refpeft  to  the  faculties  they  are  endowed  with^ 
lince  they  are  governed  by  an  imperious  inttincl.  Full 
of  thefe  ideas,  flruck  with  alioniflirrent  at  the  appear- 
ance of  an  harmony  fo  general,  have  we  not  juft  grounds 
to  prefume,  that  man,  tranfported  into  infinite  /pace  by 
his  inte'ligence — that  man  fufceptible  of  improvement 
snd  continually  combating  obftacles— that  roan,  in  fhorf* 
this  moft  noble  work  of  nature,  only  commences  in 
this  fublunary  world  his  race?  And,  fince  all,  that 
compofcs  the  material  order  of  the  univerfe,  appears  to 
us  in  an  harmony  fo  admirable,  ought  we  not  'then  to 
conduce,  that  the  ir.ora!  crdc-.  in  which  we  perceive 
things  vague  and  not  determinate — that  the  moral 
M  order 


*34          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

order  is  connected  with  another  life  mere  fublirre  and 
more  afloniihing  than  the  other  parts  of  creation,  and 
xvill  one  day  he  ultimately  developed  ?  '1  his  fmguiar 
difproportion  between  the  harmony  of  the  phyfical, 
and  apparent  confuficui  of  the  moral  world,  items  to 
announce  a  time  of  equilibrium  and  completion — a 
*ime  when  we  fhall  all  know  its  relation  with  the  wif- 
oom  of  the  Creator,  as  we  already  perceive  the  wifdom 
of  his  deigns,  in  the  pcrfeft  agreen.-fcnt  of  the  innume- 
rable blefiings  of  nature  with  the  prefent  wants  of  mari, 
and  every  other  animated  creature. 

The  grandeur  of  the  human  rnind  is  indeed  a  vaft 
-abject  of  reflexion.  This  marvellous  conflitution  feems 
to  remind  us  pcrpeiualiy  of  a  defign  proportioned  to 
fuch  a  noble  conception.  It  feems  almoft  urvneceflaTf, 
that  God  fhould  have  endowed  the  foul  with  Inch  no- 
ble faculties  for  fuch  a  fliort  life  as  ours,  to  fulfil  its 
limited  plans  ana  trivial  purfuits.  Thus  every  thing 
authorizes  us  to  carry  our  views  further.  Were  i  to 
fee  fuch  men  as  Columbus,  Vefputius,  Vafco  de  Ga- 
*na,  in  a  fhip,  I  fhculd  not  fuppofe  that  they  were 
mere  coaflers. 

Some  try  to  deftroy  our  hopes,  by  endeavouring  to 
prove,  that  the  foul  is  material,  and  that  it  ought  to  b^ 
aflimilatcd  to  every  thing  which  penfhes  before  us  : 
but  the  forms  only  change  ;  the  vivifying  force  dees 
not  perlih.  Perhaps  the  foul  relcmbies  it,  but  >virh 
this  difference,  that  as  it  is  compofed  of  memory,  re- 
flexion, and  forefigbt,  it  exifls  only  by  a  feries  of  con- 
fequences,  which  form  the  diflincl  attributes  and  par- 
ticular character  of  its  efTence  :  it  follows  then,  that  it 
cannot  be  generalized  like  the  blind  force  which  ani- 
mates in  a  univerfa!  manner  vegetation  ;  but  that  every 
foul  is,  in  fome  meafure,  a  world  to  itfelf,  and  that  it 
ought  to  preferve  feparately  an  identity  of  intered,  and 
confciouinefs  of  preceding  thoughts.  Thus,  in  this 
fyflem,  the  corporeal  body,  which  difiingusflies  us  to 
the  eyes  of  others,  is  only  the  tranfitcry  habitation  of 
that  foul  which  is  not  to  die — of  that  foul  fufceptiblc 
of  continual  improvement,  and  which,  by  degrees  that  we 
#n  have  no  idea  of.  will  probably  approach  infenfibly  te 

ihjft 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  135 

thai  magnificient  period,  when  it  will  be  thought  wor.- 
tby  of  knowing  more  intimately  the  Author  of  nature. 

How  can  we  conceive  the  action  of  the  foul  on  our 
fenfes,  without  a  point  of  contaft?  ^d  how  conceive 
that  con ta ft,  without  the  idea  of  nia^r?  For  it  is  on- 
ly by  experience  we  are  acquainted  with  the  neceflity 
of  it  to  occafion  a  motion  :  and  without  that  previous 
knowledge,  the  rapidity  wit'h  which  one  body  fome- 
limes  ftrikes  another,  could  only  have  been  represented 
by  the  length  of  time  necefFary  for  its  approach  to  it  : 
however,  if  we  had  not  any  metaphyfical  knowledge  of 
the  caufe  of  motion — and  if  experience  only  guidrrJ- 
our  judgment  in  this  refpecl,  \vhyrefiftan  idea  that 
there  is  within  us  a  faculty  which  acts  of  iifeif?  The 
intimate  feeling  we  have  of  it,  is  certainly  an  argument 
for  its  exiftence.  We  cannot,  behdes,  maintain,  that 
a  like  property  may'be  oppofite  to  ih»  nature  of  things ; 
fince,  if  we  a«iopt  the  fyttem  of  the  creation  of  the  world, 
this  property  may  proceed,  like  a!!  others,  from  the  Di- 
vine Power:  and  if  we  admir,  on  the  contrary,  the  ir- 
religious opinion  of  the  eternity  cf  the  -univerfe,  there 
muft  have  been, from  eternity,  a  general  movement  with- 
out impulfion,  without  exterior  contact,  or  any  caufe 
out  of  itfeif ;  and  the  action  of  our  fouls  might  b«  fub- 
ject  to  (he  fame  laws. 

The  idea  of  the  neceflity  of  a  contact,  to  effect  a 
movement  would  never  have  occurred,  if  we  had  boun- 
ded our  obfervations,  to  (he  influence  of  our  ideas  on 
our  determinations,  and  the  influence  of  thole  determi- 
nations on  our  phyfical  being.  In  fhort,  the  laws  cf 
attraction  and  repulfion  are  fubject  to  great  exceptions  ; 
which  exceptions  may  ferve  to  fupport  the  fyflera  of 
the  fpirituaiity  of  the  foul.  We  may  be  allowed  to 
fay,  that  there  exifis  a  vacuum  in  the  univerfe,  fince, 
without  this  vacuum,  there  could  not  hav«  been  any 
motion.  It  is  known,  that  this  motion  depends  on  the 
laws  of  attraction  :  but  how  can  attraction  aft  through 
a  vacuum,  unlefs  it  be  by  a  fpiritual  force,  \vhich 
afts  without  contact,  and  notwithflanding  the  abfolute 
interruption  of  matter  ?  1 1  is  then  this  force,  or  its  equi- 
valent, that  I  may  adopt,  to  define  the  caufe  of  the  im~ 
preflTions,  of  which  our  fouls  are  fufceptible. 

Let 


*j6         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

Let  others  explain,  in  their  turn,  by  what  materbl 
comm-inication,  the  fight  of  a  few  immoveable  charac- 
ters, traced  on  infenfible  marble,  difturbs  my  foul.— 
It  is  very  eafy  to  comprehend  by  what  mechaniftn. 
the  eye  tfi$ingiiiflies  thefe  characters  :  but  there  ends 
tn_f  phyfical  aclion  :  for  we  cannot  attribute  to  that 
action,  the  general  power  of  producing  fenfations  in 
the  mind  ;  fince,  perhaps,  many  other  man  may  con- 
fidcr  the  fame  characters,  without  receiving  any  im- 
prefiion. 

It  ia  very  poflible,  that  our  intellectual  perceptions 
have  not  any  connexion  with  motion,  fuch  as  we  con- 
ceive it.  Our  interior  nature,  which  we  diftinguifk 
by  the  name  of  immaterial,  is  probably  fubjeft  to  laws 
very  different  from  thofe  which  govern  nature  in  gen- 
eral ;  but  as  we  arc  oblige,!  to  apply  to  the  myfteriee 
of  our  fouls,  thofe  expreffions  which  ferve  to  deline- 
ate or  to  interpret  the  phenomena  fubmitted  to  our  in- 
ipeftipn  ;  thefe  expreffions,  and  their  continual  ufe, 
have  infenfibly  habituated  us  to  certain  c-pinions,  about 
*ha  caufes  and  developement  of  our  intellectual  facul- 
ties. It  is  thus  that,  after  having  ufed  the  words  mo- 
tion, red,  agitation,  and  action,  to  difcriminate  differ- 
ent affections  of  our  fouls,  of  which  we  know 
very  little,  we  have  afterwards  aflidiilated  them,  fool- 
imly,  to  our  moral  nature,  to  all  the  ideas  which  were- 
reprefented  by  thefe  denominations.  And  even  death 
it  {'elf,  of  which  we  have  not  any  clear  knowledge,  but 
by  the  diflfolution  of  our  phyfical  being — death,  an 
Image  borrowed  from  things  which  are  finder  the  in- 
fpettion  of  our  fenfes,  has  not,  perhaps,  either  relation 
<«r  analogy,  with  the  nature  and  effence  of  our  fpirit  i 
all  thefe  are  incomprehenfible  fecrets,  not  mixed  witk 
any  thing  we  are  acquainted  with. 

We  art,  in  this  refpeft,  like  men  born  deaf?  who 
apply  to  founds  thofe  terms  which  they  were  accuf- 
tomed  to  ufe,  to  exprefsthe  fenfattons  the  other  fenfes 
produced. 

I  {hall  only  add  another  obfervation  to  the  ideas  on. 
which  I  have  juft  dwelt.     Perhaps   we  fhould  never 
kave  thought  of  applying  the  words  which  exprefs  ac- 
tion 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  i37 

lion  and  motion,  to  all  the  operations  of  our  fouls,  if 
we  had  not  at  Hrfl  divided  our  fpiritual  being  into  a 
great  number  of  dependencies,  fuch  as  attention,  re- 
flexion, thought,  judgment,  imagination,  memory,  and 
forefight  ;  and  if,  afterwards,  in  order  to  render  intel- 
ligible the  variable  relations  of  thefe  abftraft  parts  of 
our  mind  (thefe  parts  of  a.  unit  which  we  have  taken 
to  pieces,  though  it  compofed  that  fingle  being,  our- 
(elf)  we  had  not  been  obliged  to  have  recourfe  to  forne 
plain  expreflions,  like  (hofe  of  aftion,  motion,  Rlt'j 
tion,  and  repulfion.  But  this  familiar  ufe  0f  thefe  e:-  • 
preffions,  in  order  to  explain  the  accidents  of  our  in 
telle&ual  fyftem,  very  much  refembles  the  ufe  which 
we  make  of  X  in  Algebra,  to  expreis  unknown  te mr:, 

In  fliort,  were  we  to  fabmit  the  aftion  of  our  fouh 
to  the  laws  of  a  particular  movement,  forming  c: 
the  dependencies  of  the  great  one,  we  fhould  ttill  have 
to  explain  the  caufe  of  the  confcioufnefs  that  we  have 
of  this  aftion,  which  atheifis  rcfufe  to  nature  itfcif,  at 
the  very  moment  they  make  it  the  God  of  the  uru« 
verfe.  Were  reafoning  able  to  fubjcft  a!l  the  opera- 
fions  of  our  mind  to  the  impreflions  of  external  objecV 
we  could  not  rank  under  the  fame  laws,  that  confciouf- 
nefs  which  we  have  of  our  exigence,  and  of  the  dif- 
ferent faculties  of  the  foal.  This  confcioufnefs  it  not 
an  efteft,  or  the  production  of  any  known  force,  fince 
it  has  been  always  in  us  independent  of  any  external 
object  ;  confequently  we  cannot  mveftigate  it.  Tb? 
conception  of  the  exidence  of  our  fouls,  is  as  incom- 
prehenfible  to  us,  as  that  of  eternity  ;  what  a  profound 
thought,  which  even  our  imagination  cannot  embrace  I 

Let  us  admit,  however,  for  a  moment,  that  a41  the 
operations  of  our  fou!s  are  determined  by  forne  imp-j'- 
fion  ;  whatever  it  may  be,  we  (hall  iiiii  be  flruck  with 
tha  abfolute  difference  which  ex  ills,  according  to  ou." 
knowlegde,  between  the  regular  movements  of  ma' 
and  tbealmod  infinite  and  unaccountable  emotions  of 
our  hearts  and  minds  ;  fo  variable  and  fo  difTeremi •/ 
modified,  that  the  attention  is  lofl  in  the  cxajninatio'n 
of  them.  And  after  having  vainly  endeavoured  {,> 
conceive  the  union  eftablifhcd  between  our  thoughts 
M2  aoii 


*3&         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

and  exterior  objefts,  we  have  ftill  to  form  an  idea  ®f 
the  actions  of  thefe  thoughts  on  themfelves,  their  pro- 
greffion  and  connexion.  Our  mind,  led  aftray,  loft  in 
iuch  a  meditation5  leave  us  only  a  confcioufnefs  of  our 
weaknefs  ;  and  we  fee!,  that  there  is  an  intellectual  al- 

the  human  facilities  can  never  reach, 
e   dittinguifh  in  a   fingle   characler,    which    out 
can   decypber,    an   abfolute   difference    be- 
tween foul  and  matter.     We  cannot  avoid  reprefent- 
ing  the  latter  as  infinitely  divifible,  while,  on  the  con- 
trary, ill  the  efforts  of  our  imagination  could  never  di* 
vide  that  indivifibie   unit    which   compofes    the   foui, 
and  which  is"  the    fovereign   over  our   wilf,  thoughts^ 
3t)d  all  our  faculties.* 

Butif  we  examine  again,  under  another  appearance, 
the  properties  of  matter,  we  know  not  now  to  af- 
firm  late  to  them  the  emotions  of  our  foul:  forwefeedif- 
lin&ly.  thofc  emotions,  let  their  number  be  ever  fo  nu- 
merous ;  whea  even  they  aQ  together  and  terminate  IR 
the  fane  cenrre,  which  is  that  Indivifibie  Being  before 
alluded  to  ;  whereas  matter  by  an  effential  property, 
cannot,  in  the  fame  infiant,  be  prelFed  or  {'ruck  in  te  - 
•veralounners,  suilefs  it  be  in  parts  which  have  a  tend- 
ency to  different  centres. 

There  is  not,  then,  any  refernbJance  between  the  im.r 
prelTions  that  our  fouls  receive,  and  the  various  effcfts 
which  may  be  attributed  to  ihe  aft  ton  of  all  the  mate- 
rial fubftances,  of  which  we  can  form  any  conception. 
They  are  always  conne&ed  with  (he  idea  of  fpace  and 
extent  :  but  that  centre,  where  all  our  perceptions 
meet,  that  Judge,  who  ditlates  laws  in  the  internal  em- 
pire 

*  So.a^.  fi/,  'n  orJer  to  weaken  tills  argument,  tint  wt* 
*nay  attribute  to  chs  indiviiible  unit  all  the  qualities  of  mat- 
ter ;  that  a  round  budy  is  really  divifible,  but  that  rouridnef:;- 
and  impenetrability  are  not.  Such  an  objection  is  evident- 
ly not  jult.  Round nefs  and  impenetrability  are  only  quali- 
ties: unA  thefe  q'.nlities,  when  merely  abftradt,  are  neceffa- 
rily  invariable.  Thus,  it  is  as  impoffible  to  di  vide  itj  33  it  istO' 
Tuultiply  and  in':rf.a(":  it;  but  my  foul,  my  thoughts,  the  con- 
'cioufuefs  that  I  have  of  my  own  exiftence,  forms  a  particular 
^ndperfaaalbeitig:  and  it  it  were  of  the  i'4tn«natuti'  as  mat* 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS, 

jflre,  whofe  revolutions  we  only  know,  that  lad  Direft- 
or  of  our  will,  this  Indivifible  Being,  at  the  fame  time 
our  friend  and  mafter,  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  com- 
pounded idea  ;  and  this  unity  fo  (imple,  ought  neccf- 
farily  to  convince  us,  that  nothing  which  is  fubraittedl 
to  the  dominion  of  our  fenfes,  can  ferve  as  *  type  of 
the  idea  which  we  are  to  form  of  the  foul. 

We  difcover  the  traces  of  this  truth,  whe»  *r«*fix 
our  attention  on  the  comparifons  with  which  our  fpi- 
ritual  unit,  our  identical  felf,  is  continually  occupied* 
We  imagine  it  feated  on  a  throne,  liftening  and  -x- 
amining  the  various  reafons  which  ought  to  determina 
its  aftion.  We  fee  ii;,  tike  Nero,  yielding  fometiraoe 
to  Narciffus,  and-  fometimes  to  Burrhus  ;  but  at  the 
fame  time  that  we  dittin&ly  perceive  all  the  counfeU 
lors,  all  the  flatterers,  all  the  enemies  which  furround 
it  ',  we  never  remark  but  a  fingle  mafter  in  the  midft 
of  the  tumult,  and  the  intrigues  of  this  court. 

While  our  foul  then  is  thrown  into  motion  l?y  con- 
templation, and  by  the  imperceptible  modification  of  a 
fugitive  idea,  as  well  as  by  every  thing  which  is  oppofc 
ed  to  material  aftion,  why  ihould  we  not  fuppofe*  that 
it  is  purely  intelligent  and  fpiritual  ?  It  mull  be  ron- 
feffedj  that  fometimes  our.  corporeal  infirmities  influ- 
ence our  minds.  But  this  relation  is  not  a  proof  of 
identity;  fince  our  body  may  bean  inflrument  en- 
truftcd  to  our  foul,  one  of  the  organs  of  which  it  is  to 
make  a  tranfitory  ufe.  The  continuity  of  exigence, 
confidered  abftraftedly,  certainly  is  in  the  univerfe  a 
iimple  and  natural  ftate  :  and  the  temporary  exiftencc 
is  perhaps  the  only  one  which  is  heterogeneous  and 
accidental.  The  foul  feems  too  noWe  to  be  affimilat- 
ed  to -the  latter  ttate  :  it  nvay  exiit  in  a  different  man- 
ner when  joined  to  a  material  fubRance  :  but  that  con- 
nexion does  not  make  it  lofe  its  original  eflence, - 

It  is  to  be  acknowledged,  that  IMS  through  the  me- 
dium of  our  fenfes  we  know  all  th-3  force  of  our  exift- 
ence ;  and  that  they  are  thofe  parts  of  our  mixed  be- 
ing which  llrike  us  moft,  during  a  little  while,  and 
it  is,  perhaps,  by  a  law  of  the  fame  kind,  that  we  fee 
Bienr  e  i^roiled  by  a  great  pillion,  entirely  Grangers  to 


f4<>         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

every  other  moral  affeaion.  But  why  ffiould  it  be 
contrary  to  the  nature  of  chings,  that  the  foul,  once 
ftnpped  of  its  terredrial  clothing.fhouid  be  acquainted 
with  the  nati>reofits  exiflence,  and  at  the  fame  time 
perceive  thofe  truths  which  now  are  obfcured  by 
clouds.  .An  innate  fire  languiflies  a  long  time  un- 
known in  a  rough  ftone  :  that  flone  is  flruck  ;  and  we 
iee  iffue  out  a  fplendid  light.  This  is,  perhaps,  a  faint 
picture  of  the  ftate  in  which  our  foul  is,  when  death 
breaks  its  fetters. 

In  fhort,  in  a  matter  fo  obfcure,  every  fuppofition 
ss  admiffible,  which  affures  us,  that  the  foul  is  not  or* 
earth  in  a  ftate  of  enchantment,  or  in  a  kind  of  inter- 
ruption  of  its  ordinary  exiftence.  AH  that  we  fee  of 
the  aniverfe  is  an  affemblage  of  incomprehenfible  phe- 
nomena ;  and  when  we  wifli  to  difcover  the  conclu- 
fion,  through  the  aid  of  the  ideas  moft  on  a  level  witK 
our  intelligence,  we  wander  perhaps  from  truth  ;  fince 
accord  ing  to  appearances,  it  is  in  the  depths  of  infini- 
ty that  it  repofes. 

I  doubt,  whether  we  can  allow  the  authority  of  thofe 
wietaphyfical  arguments,  which  are  made  ufe  of  to  de- 
fend the  fpirituality  of  the  foul,   to  be  decifive  :  but 
they  are  fufficient  to  repulfe    the  different   attacks  of 
matenalifts.     The  moft  evident  opinion  fo  me  is,  that 
we  are  too  weak  to  comprehend  the  fecret  we  fearch 
for.      We  have,   according  to  our  petty  knowledge, 
divided  the  univerfe  into  two  parts,  fpirit  and  matter  : 
hut  this  divifion  ferves  only  to  diflinguifh  the  little  we* 
Icnow,  from  that  of  which  we  have  no  knowledge.—- r 
There  is,  perhaps,  an  infinite   gradation  between  Jhe 
different  properties  which  compofe   motion  and  life 
inflina  and   intelligence.     We  can  only  exprefs  the' 
ideas  conceived  by  our  underftandings :  and  the  gene- 
ral words  which  we  make  ufe  of,  ferve  only  to  detecl 
the  vain  ambition  of  our  mind  :  but  with  refpecl:  to- 
the  univerfe,  in  confidering  its  immenfity,  we  fnall  find? 
that  there  is  fufficient  fpace  for  all  the  {hades  and  modi- 
fications we  have   no  idea  of.      We  confefs,  that  it  is 
the  connexion  between  our  phyfical  powers  and  intel- 
Jc6iual  faculties,  and  ihe  aclion  that  they  feem  to  havr 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  141 

©n  each  other,  which  nourifhes  our  doubts  and  anxie- 
ties;  but  without  this  relation,  without  the  appear- 
ance of  our  fall,  all  would  be  diflinct  in  the  fate  of  man, 
all  would  be  manifeft.  It  is  then,  becaufe  there  is  a 
{hade  in  the  midft  of  the  picture,  which  continually 
catches  our  attention,  that  we  have  need  to  collect  the 
light  of  the  mind  and  the  feelings,  in  order  fc>  fee  in 
perfpeflive  our  defliny  ;  and  it  is  from  this  motive, 
that  we  find  it  neceffary,  above  all,  to  be  penetrated 
with  the  idea  of  a  God.  and  to  fearch,  in  his  power 
and  goodnefs,  for  the  laft  explication  which  we  want. 

There  is,  in  the  judgments  of  men,  a  contrail  which 
I  have  often  been  ftruck  with.  Thofe  people,  who, 
at  the  fight  of  the  immenfity  of  the  univerfe,  at  the 
view  of  ihe  wonders,  in  the  midll  of  which  they  are 
placed,  fear  not  to  attribute-to  our  intellectual  facul- 
ties the  power  of  interpreting  and  underftanding  every 
thing,  and  even  the  capacity  of  attaining  almoft  to  the 
hidden  fecrets  of  our  nature  :  thefe  fame  people  are, 
neverthelefs,  mofl  eager  to  ftrip  the  foul  of  its  true 
dignity,  and  the  moil  obftinate  in  refufing  its  fpiritual- 
ity  and  duration,  and  every  thing  elfe  which  can  ex- 
ait  it. 

But  happily,  thefe  re  fu  fa  Is  orconceflions  fix  not  our 
fate.  The  nature  of  the  foul  will  always  be  as  un- 
known as  the  effence  of  the  Supreme  Being  :  and  it 
is  one  of  the  proofs  of  its  grandeur,  to  be  wrapped  up 
in  the  fame  myfteries  which  hide  from  us  the  univer- 
fal  fpirit.  But  there  are  fimple  ideas  and  fentiments, 
which  feem  to  bring  along  with  them  more  comfort 
and  hope  than  metaphyfical  arguments, 

We  cannot  profoundly  meditate  on  the  marvellous 
attributes  of  thought — we  cannot  attentively  contem- 
plate the  vaft  empire  which  has  been  fubmitted  to  if, 
or  reflect  on  the  faculty  with  which  it  is  endowed,  of 
fixing  the  paft,  approaching  the  future,  and  bringing 
into  a  froall  compafs  the  expanded  views  of  nature, 
and  of  containing,  if  I  may  ufe  the  phrafe,  in  one 
point,  the  infinity  of  fpace,  and  the  immenfity  of  time 
—we  cannot  coniider  fuch  a  wonder,  without  con~ 
Jinually  uniting  a  femiment  of  admiration  to  the  idea  > 


H2        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

of  an  end  worthy  of  fuch  a  grand  conception,  worthy 
of  him  whofe  wifdom  we  adore.     Shall  \ve,  however, 
be  able  to  difcover  this  end,   in  the  paffing  breath,  ir: 
the  fleeting  moments  which    compofe  life  ?     Shall  wo 
be  able   to  difcover    it    in  a   fucceflion  of  phantoms, 
vibfeh  feem-deflined  only  to  trace  (he  progress  of  time  ? 
^4M)l0ftc,  above  all,    perceive  it  in  this  general  (yfiem 
of  tfeftrutlion  ?     And   ought  we  to  annihilate  in  the 
fame  manner  the  iufenfible  plant,  which  pcriihes  with- 
out having  known  life — and  the  intelligent  man,  who 
every  day  explores  the  charms  of  exigence  ?     Let  us 
r?ot  thus  degrade  our  fate  anu  nature  ;  and  let  us  judge 
and  hope    better  of  that    which   is   unknown.      Life, 
which   is  a  means  of  improvement,  fhould  not  lead  to 
an  eternal  deaih  :    the   mind,    that  prolific  iburce  of 
knowledge,  fhould    not  be   lofl  in  the   dark   fliades  of 
forge tfulnefs.     Senfibiiity   and   all  its   mild   snd  pure 
emotions,  which  fo  tenderly  unite  us  to  others,  and  en- 
liven  our  days,  ought  not  to  be  diffipated  as  if  it  wer« 
the  vapour  of  a  dream  :   conference,  that  fevere  judge, 
was  not  intended  to  deceive  us  :   and  piety  and  virtue 
ar.  not  vainly  to  elevate  our   views   towards  that  mo- 
dle  ofaffeciion,  the  objeft  of  our  love  and  adoration.-— 
The  Supreme  Being,  to  whom  all  times  belong,  Teems 
already  to  have   fealed  our  union  with  futurity,  by  en- 
dowing us   with  forefight,   and    placing  in  the  recefTes 
of  our  heart  the  paflionatc  defire  of  a  longer   duration 
and  the  confufed  fentiment  which  it  gives  of  obtaining 
it.     There  are  fome  relations  dill  obfcure,  fome  con- 
nexions between  our  moral  nature   and  futurity  ;  and 
perhaps  our  wiflies,  our  hopes,  are  afixthfenfe,  a  faint 
fenfe,  if  I   may  be  allowed   to  exprefs  myfeif   fo,  of 
vrhich  we  (hall  one  day  experience  the  fatisfacliori.— • 
Sometimes    alfo.  1  imagine,  that  love,  the   moil   noble 
ornament  of  our  nature,  love,  fublimc  enchantment,   is 
a  mytterious  pledge  of  the  truth  of  thefe  hopes  j  for  in 
difengaging  us  from  ourfelves,  tranfporting  us  beyond 
the  limits  of  our  being,  it  feenis  the  firH  ftep   towards 
an  immortal  nature  :  and   in  rrefenting  to  us  tire  idea, 
in  offering  to  us  the  example  of  an  exigence  out  of  our- 
ielves,  it  feems  to  interpret  by  our  feelings  that  which 
cur  minds  cannot  comprehend, 

ID 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  143 

'  t 

In  ftort,  and  this  reflexion  is  the  rooft  awful  of  all, 
when  I  fee  the  mind  of  man  grafp  at  the  knowledge  of 
a  God — when  I  fee  him,  at  Icatt,  draw  near  to  fuch  a 
grand  idea — fuch  a  fuhlime  degree  of  elevation  pre- 
pares me.  in  fouie  manner,  for  the  high  dtfliny  of  the 
&>ui.  1  fearch  fora  proportion  between  this  immenfe 
(bought  and  all  the  interefls  of  the  world  ;  and  l^d^T- 
cover  none.  1  fearch  for  a  proportion  bet  we^4|j^i, 
boundlefs  meditations  and  the  narrow. piflure  of  i»fe  ; 
and  I  perceive  none.  There  is  then,  1  doubt  nof, 
fome  magnificent  fecret  beyond  all  that  wecan  difcern  ; 
fome  afloniftmg  wonder  behind  this  curtain,  fill!  un- 
furled ;  on  all  fides  we  difcover  the  commencement  of 
it.  How  imagine,  how  refoWe  the  thought,  that  all 
which  aife&s  and  animates  us,  ail  which  guides  and 
captivates  us,  is  a  feries  of  enchantments,  an  aflemblage 
ofillufions-?  The  univerfe  and  its  majefticpomp  would 
then  have  been  only  dcflintd  to  ferve  as  the  theatre  of 
a  vain  reprcfentation  :  and  fuch  a  grand  idea,  fo  mag- 
nificent a  conception  would  have  had  for  an  object  a 
mere  dazzling  chimera.  What  would  then  have  figni- 
fied  that  mixture  of  real  beauties  and  fa  lie  appearances  ? 
What  had  (ignifiecl  that  concourfe  cf  phantoms,  wl. 
without  defign  or  end,  would  be  lefs  admirable  ihan  a 
ray  of  light  deftmed  to  enlighten  our  abode  ?  In  fhorf, 
what  had  iignified  in  men  that  union  of  iubiime 
thoughts  and  deceitful  h<.pes  ?  Guard  us  front  giving 
credit  to  fuch  a  fuppofition  !  Is  it  to  Hiru,  then,  whole 
power  has  not  any  limits,  that  we  dare  to  attribute 
the  artifices  of  weaknefs  ?  Should  we  have  feen  every 
where  order,  defign,  and  exaftnefs,  as  far  as  our  under- 
iiandng  can  reach — and  as  foon  as  we  are  arrived  at  the 
utmofl  boundary  of  our  faculties,  mould  we  flop  the 
views  of  the  Supreme  Intelligence,  and  imagine,  that 
all  is  finifhecl, becaufe  futurity  is  unknown  ?  Alas!  we 
endure  but  a  moment;  and  we  prefume  tu  know  the 
paft  andjfuiure!  But  grant  us  only  the  idea  of  a  God  ; 
do  not  deprive  us  of  OHT  confidence  in  him  ;  it  is  in  re- 
jying  on  that  grand  truth,  that  we  fhali  be  ab'e  to 
guard  our  hopes  againft  a!l  the  metaphyficol  arguments, 
vvhi,h  we  are  not  immediately  prepared  to  anlwer. 

Would 


544        o?  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

\Vould  you  objeft,  that  hope  is  not  fufficient  to  de- 
termine men  to  the  observance  of  morality,  and  to  iub- 
jecl  them  to  the  facrifices  which  the  pra6tife  of  virtue 
feems  to  impofe?  What  then  attracts  them,  in  ail  the 
.buftle  of  lifej  unJefs  it  be  hope  ?  What  is  it  that  ren- 
ders them  greedy  of  honour  and  of  fortune,  unit- f*  it 
be  expectation  ?  And  when  they  obtain  the  objeft  of 
their  wiflies,  they  have  frequently  only  the 
advantages  hope  created.  Why  then  would  yon1  ;<fk 
fora  demonftrated  certainty,  in  order  to  devote 
felf  to  all  the  refearches  which  the  human  r.  •  n 

conceive  to  be  the  mod  grand,  the  moft  worthy  an 
ardent  purfuit?  On  the  contrary,  the  molt  trifling  de- 
gree of  expectation  Ihould  become  a  motive  of  encour- 
agement, And  what  is  it,  of  all  our  interefls,  which 
could  be  put  in  competition  with  the  moft  fugitive  idea, 
••with  the  {lighten1  hope,  of  pleating  the  Matter  of  the 
world,  and  maintaining  the  intercourfe  which  feems 
to  be  Indicated  by  our  natural  fentiments,  and  by  tire 


firft  perceptions  of  our  minds  ? 
I  would    wifh  to 


(till  further,  and  I  would  de- 
mand, not  of  all  men,  but  of  fome  at  leaft,  if,  were 
even  this  life  to  be  their  only  heri:age}  they  would 
think  themfelves  freed  from  the  dcfire  of  pleafmg  the 
Sovereign  Author  of  nature,?  The  moment  that  is 
given  us  to  know  and  admire  him,  wouid  it  not  dill  be  a 
blelling  ?  We  celebrate  the  memory  of  thofe  prince* 
•who  have  done  good  to  men  ;  are  we  not  to  do  the 
fame  with  him  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  ou»  ex- 
iflence  ;  to  him  who  has  contrived,  if  I  may  be  allow- 
ed to  fay  fo,  the  various  enjoyments  we  are  fo  unwil- 
ling to  detach  ourfelves  from  ?  Shall  we  dare,  weak 
.and  ignorant  as  we  are,  to  meafure  the  wifdorn,  and 
calculate  the  power  of  our  Benefaftor,  and  rafhiy  re- 
proach him  for  not  having  done  more  for  us  ?  Thii 
would  be  the  language  of  ingratitude.  But,  as.  I  have 
fhown,  our  fentiments  have  not  been  put  to  this  left  ; 
and  it  is  on  more  liberal  terms  that  we  have  been  ad- 
mitted to  treat  with  the  Supreme  Being.  He  has  fur- 
•rounded  us  tviih  cv;  ihat  can  encourage 


RELIGIONS  OPINIONS.  M5 

cfcpeclations.  He  allows  us,  by  contemplation,  to  at- 
tain almoft  a  knowledge  of  his  perfections.  He  lets 
id  them  in  that  collection  of  glory  and  magnifi- 
cence which  the  univerfe  clilplays.  He  permits  us 
lo  perceive  his  poweV  and  goodnefs,  infinity  and  hap- 
pinefs  ;  and  by  that  fucceffion  of  ideas,  he  has  guided 
our  wi-fhes  and  our  hopes.  How  grand  is  the  contem- 
plation of  the  E-tcrnal,  they  who  have  fenfibiiity  can 
tell  !  But  this  idea  fhculd  be  very  early  implanted  in 
the  human  heart  ;  it  is  necclfary  that  it  ihould  be  con- 
Decled  with  our  firft  feelings  ;  that  it  ihould  rife  by- 
degrees,  in  order  ro  gain  itrength,  before  men  are 
thrown  into  the  nvdfl  of  that  world  which  boafls  of 
being  freed  from childiih  prejudices — left}  hurried  a'ong 
by  its  levity,  they  follow  every  day  a  new  mailer,  and 
render  themfelves  the  flaves  of  pleafure  and  vanity. 

And  that  which  is  to  maintain  among  men  the  prin- 
ciples firft  inculcated,  is  public  worfhip,  an  id-ea  as 
•jciiuiful  as  fimple,  and  theuioit  proper  to  vivify  all  that 
is  vague  and  afrflracl;  in  reafoning  and  inftruftion.  Pub- 
lic worlhip,  in  aiTembiing  men,  and  in  turning  them 
without  public  iharne  to  their  weakness,  and  in  equal- 
izing every  individual  before  the  Matter  of  the  world, 
will  be,  in  this  point  ofvie^v,  a  grand  ieffon  of  morat- 
ity.  But  this  wor&ip,  .briides,  habitually  remind1* 
Some  of  their -duty  ;  and  U  for  others  a  coivlbnt  fourcc 
of  coniblation.  In  ihort,  alraoft  all  men,  altonifiied 
«nd  overwhelmed  by  the  ideas  of  grandeur  and  infini- 
ty, which  the  appearance  of  the  univerfe,  and  the  ex- 
crcife  of  their  own  thought-,  prefect  to  them,  afpire 
to  find  rcpofe  in  the  fentimsnt  of  adoration  which 
unites  them  in  a  more  intimate  manner  to  God,  than 
the  developement  of  their  reaion  ever  \viil. 

We  iliouid  guard  ourfelves  carefully  from  ucff)i{ir,gthe 
emotions  of  piety,  whi-ch  cannot  be  feparated  from  its 
advantages  :  and  philcfopbers  themfelves  know  not 
how  far  they  would  gcs,  when  they  try  to  reduce  the 
iotereil  of  men  to  the  narrow  circle  of  deraolhtl rated 
truths.  That  which  we  perceive  con fufedly ,-  i.i  more 

precious  than  all  we  have  a  certain   knowledge   of. 

That  which  we    a»-  ;:<>ro  vilue  than  the 

b:d£r- 


i*6         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

bleffingsfcattered  around  us.  Thus,  wefhould  be  mifer- 
ably  impoverifhed,  if  they  could  cut  off  the  various  com- 
forts which  we  fliall  never  pofFefs.  but  through  the  aid 
$f  imagination.  However,  if  we  take  this  imagina- 
tion as  a  guide  and  encouragement,  when  we  are 
engaged  in  the  purfuits  of  fortune  and  ambition 
— and  if  the  wife  themfelves  find  that  to  be  good 
•which  ferves to  nourifh  ourpaffions — why  would  you 
arejeft  it,  when,  fimply  more  grand  and  more  fublime 
an  its  objeft,  it  becomes  the  fupport  of  ourweaknefTes, 
the  fafeguard  of  our  principles,  .and  the  fource  of  our 
uiofi  interefting  confolations  ? 

It  is  the  part  of  legislators  to  ftudy  thefe  truths,  and 
todirecl  towards  them  the  fpirit  of  laws,  and  the  un- 
certain courfe  of  opinions.  How  honourable  is  it  for 
them  to  be  called  to  form  the  augufl  alliance  which  is 
to  unite  happinefs  with  morality,  and  morality  with 
the  exigence  of  a  God  ! 


CHAPTER     XII. 


That  there  is  a  God. 


THAT  there  is  a  God!  How  is  it  pofiible  to  avoid 
being  penetrated  with  an  awful  refpecl  in  utter- 
ing thefe  words  ?  How  refitft  on  them  without  the 
deeped  humility,  and  even  an  emotion  of  furprife,  that 
man,  this  weak  creature,  this  atom  difperfed  in  the 
immenfity  of  fpace,  undertakes  to  add  fome  weight  to 
a  truth,  of  which  all  nature  is  the  fplendid  witneis  ? 
However,  if  this  truth  be  our  fupreme  good,  if  we  be 
nothing  without  it,  how  can  we  banifh  it  from  our 
minds?  Does  it  not  conftrain  us  to  dwell  continually 
on  the  fubjetl?  Compared  with  it  ail  other  thoughts 
are  infigniricant  and  uninterefting.  It  gives  birth  to, 
and  fuftains  all  ihe  fentiments  on  which  the  happinefs 
of  an  intelligent  creature  depends,  I  confefs  1  tremb- 
lingly 


"RE'LIGIOUS  OPINIONS,         147 

•  ifigly  difcuffed  (he  different  objections  which  are  em- 
ployed to  deftroy  our  confidence  in  the  exiltence  of  a 
Supreme  Being.  I  dreaded  the  melancholy  which 
ihole  arguments  produced.  I  was  afraid  to  feel  the 
impreflion  of  it  myfelf,  and  thus  to  hazard  the  opinion 
moft  dear  to  my  heart,  and  mod  efTential  to  my  happi- 
nefs.  It  appeared  to  me,  that  a  few  general  ideas,  fup- 
ported  by  lively  feelings,  would  have  been  fufficieni 
for  my  tranquility  :  and  without  an  intereft  more  ex- 
tended, without  the  defire  of  oppofing,  according  to 
my  powers,  a  fpirit  of  indifference  and  falfe  philofo- 
phy,  which  is  every  day  gaining  ground,  I  fhouid  never 
have  itepped  beyond  my  circle.  But  I  am  far  from 
regretting  the  part  I  have  taken.  I  have  ran  over, 
without  much  trouble,  thofe  books  where  the  moft 
pernicious  doQrines  are  ingenioufly  diffemtnated  ;  and- 
have  thought,  that  a  perfon.  endowed  with  common 
fenie,  on  whom  metaphyfical  fubtleties  were  obtruded, 
would  refemble  thofe  favages.  who  are  brought  fome- 
times  among  us,  and  who,  from  the  depraved  refine- 
ment of  our  morals  and  manners,  have  often  recalled 
us,  by  fume  natural  reflexions,  to  thofe  firnple  princi- 
ples which  we  have  abandoned,  to  thofe  ancient  truths' 
\vhofe  veftiges  are  lofh 

The  whole  ftrutlnre  of  religion  would  be  overturn- 
ed, if,  by  the  ftrength  or  artifices  of  rcafoning,  meiy 
could  deitroy  our  confidence  in  the  exiflence  of  a  Su- 
preme Being.  Morality,  being  detached  from  th« 
opinions  which  fuOain  it,  would  remain  a  wavering, 
unfupported  notion,  only  defended  by  a  policy,  whole 
power  time  would  infendbly  weaken.  A  fatal  languor 
invading  every  mind,  where  would  be  that  univerfal 
intereft,  that  ientiment  felt  by  all  men,  and  proper  to 
form  a  general  alliance  between  them  ?  Then  thofe, 
who  with  pure  intentions,  can  only  be  guided  and  fuf- 
tain^d  by  an  intimate  pcrfuafion,  would  retire  fad,  and 
leave  to  others  the  care  of  fupporting  moral  order  by 
fiftions  and  falfhoods.  They  would  pity  that  difmayed 
race,  called  to  appear  and  pafs  away  like  flowers,  which 
bloom  but  for  a  day.  They  would  defpife  thofe  ani- 
aiated  phantoms,  which  only  come  to  make  a  bu/  with 

their 


i*8         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

their  vanify  and  trivial  pafHons,    and    fall,   in  a    ,. 
while,  into  eternal  oblivion.      All  thar  appears.be 
3ul  in  (he  univerfe,   and  excites  our  enthufiafrn,  v,'. 
'con  lofe  its  iplendor  and  enchantment,  if  we  perceiv- 
ed nothing  in  this  brilliant  fcene,  but  the  play  of  iome 
atoms,  and  the  uniform  walk  of  blind   neceflity  :  fo»: 
it  is  always   becaufe  a  thing  may  be  othervvife,  that  it 
acquires  a  c'aim   to    our  admiration.     In    fhort,   thar 
foul,   that  fpiri:.    which  vivifies  man — that   facuiiy  of 
thought  v,  r;f~s  and  confounds  thofe  who  re- 

--;";-£ — would  on:y  appear  a  vain  movement,  if  nothing 
or  were  to  follow — if  fonie  unknown 
breath,  or  general  intelligence,  did  not  animate  nature. 
But  we  have  dwelt  too  long  on  thofe  gloomy  thoughts, 
-Re-afTume  your  light  a-aci  life^  admirable  works  cf 
Ood.  Come,  and  confound  the  pride  of  fomc,  and 
<:ornfort  others.  Come,  and  take  poffeffion  of  our 
ib'tls,  and  d:rtcl  our  affections  towards  him  whom  we 
ought  to  love — -towards  him  who  is  the  eternal  model 
of  perfrft  wifdom,  and  unlimited  goodnefs  I 

1  fiia!l  not  endeavour  to  prove,  that  there  is  a  God, 
Vy  reciting  all  the  wonders  the  works  of  nature  difplav 
to  our  eyes.  Several  celebrated  writers  have  already 
clone  n}  and  have  miifed  their  aim.  Infinity  can  only 
t°  represented  by  aftoniftiment  and  refpeft,  which  over* 
vbcims  ail  our  thonghts:  and  when  we  labour  to  ex.- 
plain  the  fucceflive  and  varied  piclure  of  the  wonders 
of  nature,  this  change  of  objects  is  more  calculated  to 
relax  our  admiration  than  to  increafe  it  ;  for  any  change 
cafes  our  mind,  by  affording  thofa  relaxations  which 
our  weakuefs  has  need  of  ;  and  if  we  were  to  inveOi- 
gate  only  one  phenomenon,  \ve  flioirtd  fjon  difcover 
the  utmoft  extent  of  our  faculties.  We  find  the  lim- 
its of  our  underilanding  in  the  examination  of  the  or- 
ganization of  the  fmalleR  infecl,  as  well  as  in  obferving 
the  faculties  of  the  foul  :  and  the  myfterjes  of  the 
fimpleft  vegetation  are  as  far  above  the  reach  of  our 
intelligence,  as  the  principal  agent  of  the  univerfe. 

It  is  then  as  a  hymn  of  praife  to  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing, and  not  as  neceffary  inftruQion,  that  I  freely  fol- 
i»w  the  courfe  of  my  thoughts.  I  (hall  begin-  by 

throwing 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  149 

throwing  a  rapid  glance  on  the  principal  charafters  of 
wifdom  and  grandeur,  which  we  are  all  equally  ftruck 
with,  when  we  contemplate  the  wonder  of  the  unt- 


What  a  fight  is  that  of  the  world  !  What  a  mag- 
nificent pifture  for  thofe  who  can  be  roufed  out  of  the 
date  of  indifference,  in  which  habit  has  thrown  them  I 
We  know  not  where  to  begin,  or  ftop,  when  we  ex* 
patiate  on  fo  many  wonders  :  and  the  moft  noble  of" 
all  is,  the  faculty  which  has  been  beftowed  on  us  of 
admiring  and  conceiving  them.  What  an  aftonifh- 
ing  and  fublime  relation  is  that  of  th«  innumerable 
beauties  of  nature,  with  the  intelligence  which  per- 
mits us  to  enjoy,  and  to  be  made  happy  by  them  !•—  • 
What  relation  fo  furprifing,  as  that  of  the  order  and 
harmony  of  the  univerfe,  with  the  moral  intelligence 
which  enables  us  to  anticipate  the  enjoyments  of  wif- 
dom  and  unclouded  knowledge!  Nature  is  immcnfe, 
and  all  that  it  contains,  all  that  it  fpreads  with  (b  much 
fplendor,  feems-  within  the  reach  of  our  fenfibility,  or 
the  powers  of  our  rnind  :  and  thefe  faculties,  invifi- 
ble  and  incomprehenfible,  unite  to  form  that  wonder 
of  wonders,  "which  we  call  felicity.  Let  not  thefe 
plain  words  turn  our  attentioo  from  the  magical  ideas 
which  they  reprefent.  It  is  becaufe  the  grand  phe- 
nomena of  our  exiftence  cannot  either  be  defined  or 
expreffed  many  ways,  that  they  are  fo  much  mors 
wonderful;  and  thofe  words,  ufed  by  common  con- 
fent,  foul,  mind,  fenfation,  life,  happinefs,  and  many 
others  befides,  which  we  pronounce  fo  fligfnly,  con- 
found not  left  our  urvJerllanding,  when  we  wifh  ti> 
difcufs  the  eflence  of  the  properties  of  which  they 
are  the  fign.  It  is  for  this  reafon,  among  fevera! 
others,  that  the  admiration  of  particulars,  in  the  works 
of  nature,  is  always  inefficient  for  thofe  who  have 
fenfibility  ;  as  fuch  admiration  is  neceffarily  placed 
b^t^yeen  two  ideas  fufceptible  of  being  known  —  ideas 
which  we  conne&  through  the  aid  of  our  own  knowl- 
edge. But  the  charm  of  our  relation  with  the  won- 
ders which  furround  us,  arifes  from  experiencing  eve- 
*y,iii[Unt  the  imprctfion  of  an  infinite  grandeur  —  and 
N  sr  feeling 


j50         OF  TH£  IMPORTANCE  OF 

feeling  the  neceffity  of  flying  to  lhat  mild  refuge  of 
ignorance  and  weaknefs.  the  fublime  idea  of  a  God« 
'We  are  continually  carried  towards  this  idea  by  the 
vain  efforts  which  we  make,  in  order  to  penetrate  th<2 
fecrets  of  our  own  nature  :  and  when  I  fix  my  at- 
tention on  thofe  aftomming  myfteries,  which  feeru 
to  terminate,  in  forae  manner,  the  power  of  our 
thoughts,  I  reprefent  them  with,  emotion,  as  the  only 
fcarrier  which  feparates  us  from  the  infinite  Spirit,  the 
iburce  of  all  knowledge. 

Men  endowed  with  the  greateft  genius,  perceive 
quickly  the  hounds  of  their  facilities,  when  they  wifli 
to  go  very  far  in  the  ftudy  of  abQratl  metaphyficai 
truths.  But  the  funpleft  and  leaft  exerciCed  mind  can 
diftinguiih  the  proofs  of  that  order,  which  with  fo  much 
fplendor  announces  the  end  and  defign  of  fovereiga 
\vifdom.  It  feenis,  that  ail  the  knowledge  proper  to 
interefl  men  has  been  placed  within  their  reach.  The 
learned  aflror.omer,  obferving  the  courfe  of  the  globe 
round  the  fun,  perceiv-es  the  caufe  of  that  regular  fuc- 
ceflion  of  repofe  and  vegetation,  which  fecures  the  eartli 
sis  fecundity,  and  adornsevery  feafon  with  renewed  beau.- 


lies:  but  the  iimple  cultivator,  who  fees  the 
«f  the  earth  renovated  every  year,  and  anf^er,  with 
'Singular  precifion,  to  tfe  wants  of  animated  beings,  >.s 
•not  lefs  a  Vvitnefs  of  a.  phenomenon  which  is  fufficieal 
to  excite  his  admiration  and  gratitude!  Newton  ana- 
lyzed light,  and  calculated  the  fwifmefs.  with  which  it 
-3uns  ever  the  imraenflty  of  fpace  :  but  the  ignorant 
berdfman,  who  fees  when  be  wakes,  his  hut  enlighten.- 
ed  by  the  fame  rays  which  animate  ail  nature,  is  equal- 
ly berieBted  by  them.  The  indefatigable  anatotnilt  at- 
tains a  juft  idea  of  our  iniraitahle  ftrufture,  and  the  in.- 
!on?  texture  of  oar  different  crgaiis  :  but  the  rr.an 
moil  ;;i,  v;ho  reflects  an  inuant  c;i 

the  plcafures,  ar:d  the  variety  of  ftr.iations,  which  we 
find  ourfelves  fufceptibls  of,  partakes  the  bleffing 
equally. 

The  trarfcendenl  knowledge  of  fome  people,  is  a 
degree  of  fuperiority  which  diiappears  when  contrafled 
with  theincomprehenfibb  grandeur  of  narure.  When 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  «-gt 

*Wq  contemplate  infinity,  thofe  talents  which  exalt  on« 
man  above 'another  are  no  more  feen  :  and  probably  ft 
is  beyond  the  limits  of  our  intelligence  that  tfye  great- 
eft  .wonders  of  nature  begin.  The  knowledge  of  all 
ages  has  not  explained  what  is  the  imperious  authority 
of  our  will  over  our  aftions,  nor  how  our  thoughts 
could  reach  the  mo(t  remote  ages,  how  our  fouis  could 
inveftigate  that  innumerable  multitude  of  prefent  ob- 
jects, of  recollections  and  anticipations:  neither  has  it 
informed  us  how  all  thofe  excellencies  of  the  mind, 
femeumes  remain  unknown  to  itfelf,  nor  how  they 
are  fometimesat  its  command,  ifiumgout  of  their  long 
obfcurity,  and  fucceeding  each  other  with  method,  or 
are  pfofufely  poured  forth.  At  the  fight  of  thefe  afton- 
iihing  phenomena,  we  think  mm  prefurnptuous,  when, 
puffed  up  with  pride,  he  miftakes  the  meafurc  of  his 
llrength,  and  wifhes  to  penetrate  into  the  fecrets,  whofe 
confines  are  ft ut  up  by  an  invifible  hand.  He  fhould 
be  content  to  know,  that  his  exilience  is  united  to  fo 
many  wonders;  he  fhould  be  fatisfied  with  being  the* 
principal  object  of  the  liberality  of  jiature,  and  he 
mould  adore  with  referential  refpect,  that  powerful 
Sovereign,-  who  bettors  fo  many  bleiUngs  on  him,  and 
who  has  made  him  to  lympathize  with  all  the  poweri 
of  heaven  and  earth. 

The  globe  on  which  we  live,  runs  over  every  yc«:r 
a.  fpacc  of  two  hundred  millions  of  leagues  ;  and  in 
•this  irncnsnfe  courfe,  its  dtftance  from  the  iun,  deter- 
mined by  immutable  laws,  is  exaclly  proportioned  !» 
the  degree  of  the*  temperature  neceflary  to  our  feeble  na- 
ture, and  to  the  fucceffive  return  of  that  precious  vege- 
tation, without  which  no  animated  being  could  iuj>- 
fill. 

That  celeftial  body,  which  fertilize?-  the  feeds  of 
life  (hut  up  in  the  bofom  of  the  earth,  is,  at  the  fame 
time,  the  i'ource  of  that  light  which  opens  to  our  yievr 
the  glorious  fight  of  the  univerfe.  The  rays  of  the 
iun  run  over,  in  eight  minutes,  about  thirty  millions 
of  leagues  :  fuch  an  impetuous  motion  would  be  fuf- 
ficient  to  pulverifc  the  large  ft  maffes  of  matter  :  but, 
by  an  admirable  combination,  fuch  is  the  incompre.- 

henfiole 


OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

fcenfible  tenuity  of  theferays,  that  they  ftrike  the  mofz 
tender  of  our  organs,  not  only  without  wounding  it—- 
but with  a  meafure  io  delicate  and  precife,  that  they 
excite  in  us  thofe  extatic  fenfations,  which  are  the 
origin  and  the  indifpenfable  condition  of  our  greateil 
enjoyments. 

Man,  in  immenfity,  is  only  an  imperceptible  point: 
and  yet,  by  his  fenles  and  intelligence,  he  feems  in 
communication  with  the  whole  univerfe.  But  how 
pleafant  and  peaceable  is  this  communication  !  It  i* 
^Imoft  that  of  a  prince  with  his  fubjefts.  All  is  animat- 
ed round  man  ;  all  relates  to  his  defires  and  wants. 
The  aclion  of  the  elements,  every  thing  on  the  earth, 
like  the  rays  of  light,  feems  to  be  proportioned  to  his 
faculties  and  ftrength  :  and  while  the  celeftial  bodies 
move  with  a  rapidity  which  terrifies  our  imagination, 
and  while,  in  their  courie,  they  hurry  along  our  dwel- 
ling, we  are  tranquil  in  the  bofom  of  an  afylum,and  un- 
der the  protefting  ihelter  atiotted  us ;  we  enjoy  there  i» 
peace  a  multitude  of  bleffings,  which  by  another  won- 
derful affinity,  ally  themfelves  to  our  tafte,  and  all  the 
femiments  we  are  endowed  with. 

In  fhort,  and  it  is  another  favour,  man  is  permitted 
to  be,  in  fome  things,  the  contriver  of  his  own  happi- 
nefs,  by  his  will  and  ingenuity.  He  has  embeliifhed 
his  habitation,  and  united  feveral  ornaments  to  the  fim- 
pie  beauties  of  nature.  He  has  improved,  by  his  care, 
the  falutary  plants,  and  even  in  thofe,  which  feemed 
the  moft  dangerous,  he  has  difcovered  fome  whole- 
fome  property,  and  carefully  feparated  it  from  the  en- 
venomed parts  which  furrounded  it.  He  can  foften 
metais,  and  make  them  ferve  to  augment  his  flrength, 
He  obliges  the  marble  to  obey  him,  and  affume  what 
form  he  defires.  He  gives  laws  to  the  elements,  or  cir- 
•umfcribes  their  empire*  He  flops  theinvafion  of  the 
fea.  He  reflrains  the  rivers  in  their  natural  bed,  and 
fometimes  obliges  them  to  fake  a  different  courfe,  in 
order  to  fpread  their  benign  influence.  He  ere&s  a 
fheher  againft  the  fury  of  the  winds,  and,  by  an  inge- 
nious contrivance,  makes  ufe  of  that  impetuous  force, 
which  he  could  not  at-  firii  dream  of  defending  himfelf 

from. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  iS$ 

from,     Even  the   fire,  whofe  terrible  aftion  feer: 
prefage  dellruftion,  he  fabjugaies  ;    and  renders  it,  if  I 
may  fo  exprefs   myfe'f.  the  confidant  of  his  induftrys,  ' 
and  the  companion  of  his  labours. 

What  a  fource  of  reflexions  is  this  dominion  of  the 
mind  over  the  moft  dreadful  offers  of  the  movement  of 
Mind  matter!  It  fecms  as  if  the  Supreme  Being,  in 
fubmitting  thus  to.  the  Intelligence  of  men  the  moft 
powerful  elements,  chofe  to  give  us  an  anticipation  of 
fhe  empire  which  his  (bvcrcigrj  wifdom  has  over  tlio 
vmiverfe. 

However,  it  is  in  the  influence  of  our  fpirUualfecut- 
'tics  on  themfelves,  that  we  obferve,  above  a!!,  their  ad- 
mirable nature:  we  fee,  with  aftonifhment,  the  pert 
feftion  which  they  acquire  by  their  own  action.  In- 
telligence confidered  in  a  general  manner,  undoubted- 
ly is  a  great  phenomenon  :  but  it  is  a  Hill  greater  won- 
der, to  fee  the  thoughts  of  a  tnan  reach  by  the  molt  in- 
genious means,  the  knowledge  of  others,  and  form  an 
alliance  between  the  pail  and  prelcni  productions  of  the 
mind.  It  is  by  fuch  analjiance,  that  the  fciences  have 
been  improved,  and  that  the  mind  cf  man  has  been  ac- 
quainted with  ail  its  firength.  The  mighty  of  the 
earth  cannot  break  this  aifociatioiir,  nor  fubject  to  their 
tyrannic  divifions  the  noble  heritage  of  knowledge. 
This  gift,  fo  precious,  preserves  the  {lamp  of  a  divine 
hand  ; — and  no  one  has  yet  been  able  to  fay  "  it  is 
mine." 

The  moft  noble  ufe  that  has  ever  been  made  of  the 
admirable  union  of  fo  many  taleats,  and  fo  much  know!- 
edge,  was  to  demonftrate  how  every  thing  in  nature 
relates  to  the  idea  of  a  firft  caufe  ;  which  forcibly  an~ 
nounces  a  defign  full  of  wifdom,  and  a  beneficent  in- 
tention. But  now,  unhappily,  thefe  proofs  of  the  ex- 
iftence  of  a  God  are  not  hnficient.  Imperious  philo- 
fophers  have  labored  to  fubvert  every  thingfoundedon 
.  the  connexion  and  wonderful  harmony  of  the  fyftem 
of  nature.  It  is  not  fufficient  to  oppofe  to  thefe  new- 
opinions  the  mere  authority  of  final  caufes.  They  do 
not  conteft  that  there  is  a  perfect  conformity  between 
our  defires  and  wants?  between  our  fenfes  and  the 

bounties 


4-54        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE    O? 

bounties  of  nature  :  they  do  not  conteft,  from  the  cedar 
to  the  hyfTop,  from  the  infeft  to  man,  that  there  is  a 
beauty  of  proportion  in  the  whole,  which  is  to  be 
found  equally  in  the  relation  that  objefts  have  with 
each  other,  as  well  as  in  their  different  parts.  But 
this  admirable  harmony,  in  which  the  pious  man,  the 
man  of  feeling,  perceives  with  delight  the  ilamp  of  an 
eternal  intelligence — others,  lefs  fortunate,  undoubted- 
ly, obftinately  prefent  to  us  as  a  fortuitous  collifionj 
as  a  play  of  atoms  agitated  by  a  blind  movement,  or 
as  nature  itfelf,  exifting  thus  from  all  eternity.  Wha£ 
trouble  they  take  to  invent  and  defend  thefe  fyflem.v 
deftru&ive  of  our  happinefs  and  hopes  1  I  prefer  my 
feelings  to  ail  this  philofophy  :  but  to  avoid  an  en- 
counter would  be  to  favour  their  prefuinption,  and  give 
additional  flrength  to  their  opinions. 

I  ihall  treat  the  moll  important  queftion  that  man- 
can  confider,  in  this  manner  :  I  fhall  endeavour  firfi 
to  fhow  that  the  different  conjectures  on  the  origin 
of  the  world  all  centre  in  the  Tingle  opinion  of  the 
eternal  and  neceflary  exiftence  of  every  thing  which 
is  :  and  I  fiiall  aiterwards  compare  the  bafis  of  that 
fyflem,  with  the  reafon  of  that  happy  and  fimple  be- 
lief which  unites  the  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being  with 
all  we  fee  and  know  ;  in  Ihort,  to  the  univerfe,  tfet 
aioft  unlimited  of  our  conceptions. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


The  fame  Jubjtft  continued. 


WHEN  we  fee  the  authors  of  the  different  fyf* 
terns,  concerning  the  formation  of  the  world, 
Tcjeti  the  idea  of  a  God,  under  the  pretext,    that  this 
idea  is  foreign  to  the  nature  of  our  perceptions,  fhould 
we  not  have  a  right  to  expcft  Tome  better  fubflitute 

foe. 


RfiUGIOUS  OPINIONS.  155 

for  it  ?  But  far  from  anfwering  our  expectations, 
they  abandon  themfelves  to  all  the  wanderings  of  the 
moft  fantaftic  imagination.  In  faft,  whether  we  rc« 
fer  the  origin  of  the  univerfe  to  the  effect  of  hazard, 
the  fortuitous  concourfe  of  atoms,  or  eHablifh  another 
faypothefis,  derived  from  the  fame  principle,  it  is  nec- 
efiary  at  leaft,  to  fuppofe  the  eternal  exiftence  of  an 
innumerable  multitude  of  little  particles  of  matter, 
placed  without  order  in  the  immenfity  of  fpace  ;  and 
to  fuppofe,  afterwards,  that  the{e  atoms,  difieminated 
to  infinity,  attracted  ea^h  other,  and  correfponded  by 
the  inherent  properties  of  their  nature  ;  and  that 
there  refulted,  from  their  adhefion,  not  only  organized, 
but  intelligent  faculties  ;  it  is  neceflary,  in  fhort, 
to  fuppofe,  that  all  thofe  incomprehenfible  atoms  have 
been  iettled  with  admirable  order  through  the  effeft  of 
a  blind  motion,  and  by  the  refult  of  iome  of  the  pof- 
fible  chances  in.  the  infinity  of  accidental  combina- 
tions. Indeed,  after  fo  many  fuppofitions,  without 
example  or  foundation,  that  of  an  Intelligent  Being, 
foul  and  direftor  of  the  univerfe,  had  been  more  analo- 
gous and  more  confonant  with  our  knowledge. 

Let  us  return  to  the  hypothefis  we  have  juft  men-' 
tioned.  We  {hall  then  recognize  the  trifling  habit  of 
the  mind.  It  is  accuilomed  to  proceed  from  fianple 
to  compound  ideas,  every  time  it  meditates,  invents, 
or  executes  :  thus,  by  an  inverfe  method,  the  compo- 
•fers  of  fyftems  have  thought,  that,  in  order  to  conneft 
the  univerfe  to  its  origin,  it  was  fufficient  to  detach, 
by  the  exercife  of  thinking,  all  its  parts,  and  to  break 
and  fubdivide  them  afterwards  to  infinity.  But  what- 
ever may  be  the  tenuity  of  thefe  atoms,  their  exiftence, 
having  organized  and  intelleclual  properties  which 
*we  fliould  be  obliged  to  grant  them,  would  be  a  won- 
.der  almoft  equal  to  thole  phenomena,  which  furround 

-OS. 

%  When  we  fee  a  plant  grow,  embeiiiflied  with  dif- 
ferent-colours, -we  only  think  of  the  period  when  itt 
vegetation  may  be  perceived  by  our  fenfes.  But  the 
f<:ed  of  this  plant,  or  if  you  like  better,  the  organized 
the  fijft  principle  of  this  feed,  would  have  of- 
fered 


1<56         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

ftred  alfo  a  grand  fubjeft  of  admiration,  if  we  had  been 
endowed  with  the  faculties  neceflary  to  .penetrate  into 
the  occult  fecrets  of  nature.  But  perhaps,  in  tranf- 
forming  into  an  imperceptible  powder  ail  the  parts  of 
Kiatter,  which  have  been  collected  to  compofe  the  world, 
we  have  only  before  our  eyes  a  fugitive  vapour,  to 
•which  even  our  imagination  cannot  reach  :  and  tbofe 
who  unfortunately  love  and  defend  this  admiration, 
find  beiides,  in  the  fyftem  of  divifibie  atoms,  means 
to  defer  according  to  their  fancy,  the  moment  of 
their  altonilhment. 

All  thefe  famaftic  combinations  ferve  only  to  leacf 
us  aftray  in  our  refearches  :  and  I  do  not  think  it  a  mat- 
ter of  indifference  to  make  a  general  obferyation  ;— 
The  ftudy  of  the  firft  elements  of  all  the  fciences  which 
we  acquire,  fuch  as  geometry,  languages,  civil  legifla- 
ti-on,  and  feveral  others,  appear  to  us  the  fubJimeft  pare 
of  our  inftruclion.  It  is  net  the  fame,  when  we  feek 
to  know  the  laws  of  the  phyfical  world  ;  for  the  works 
of  nature  never  appear  more  fimple  than  in  their  com- 
pounded ftate.  They  are  then,  to  our  mind,  that 
which  harmony  is  to  the  ear.  It  is  the  agreement  of 
all  parts  which  forms  a  union  perfectly  proportioned  to 
our  intelligence.  Thus  man,  for  example,  that  won- 
derful alliance  of  fo  many  different  faculties,  does  not 
aftonifh  our  underllandmg,  but  appears  to  us  in  one 
point  of  view,  a  fimple  idea;  but  we  are  troubled, 
and,  as  it  were  difmayed,  when  we  try  to  analyze 
him,  or  mount  to  the  elements  of  his  liberty,  will, 
thought,  and  all  the  other  properties  of  his  »ature. '.' 

We  only  advance  towards  infinity,  and  confequent- 
ly  towards  the  moil  profound  darknefs.  when  we  def- 
troy  the  world,  in  order  to  divide  it  into  atoms,  out  of 
the  midft  of  which  we  make  it  iffue  afrefh,  after  hav- 
ing rallied  all  we  have  difperfed. 

Let  us  admit,  for  a  moment,  that  there  exift  organiz- 
ed and  intelligent  atoms,  and  that  they  are  fuch,  eith- 
er by  their  nature,  or  by  their  adhefion  to  other  atoms. 
We  are  now,  of  all  thefe  fcattered  atoms,  to  con;pofe 
the  univerfe,  that  matter-piece  of  harmony,  and  per- 
feft  aifemblage  of  every  beauty  anil  variety,  that  inex- 

hauflible 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  i67 

:haifftible  fource  of  every  fentiment  of  admiration  ;  and 
in  rejecting  the  idea  of  a  God,  Creator  and  prefervcr, 
we  muft  have  recourfe  ^o  the  power  of  chance,  that  is 
to  fay,  to  the  effefts  of  «n  unknown  continual  motion, 
which,  without  any  rule,  produces,  in  a  limited  time, 
all  the  combinations  imaginable.  But,  in  order  to  ef- 
feft  an  infinite  variety  of  combinations,  it  is  not  on- 
ly neceflary  to  admit  a  continual  motion,  but,  befides, 
to  fuppofe  this  continual  motion  changes  its  direction 
in  all  the  parts  of  fpace  fubjeft  to  its  influence.  Tire 
exiflence  of  fuch  a  change,  and  a  fimiiardiverfny  in  the 
laws  of  motion,  is  a  new  fuppofition  wkich  may  be 
ranked  with  the  other  wild  ones. 

However,  after  thefe  chimerical  fyflems  have  beeifc* 
granted,  we  are  not  freed  from  the  difficulties  whicir 
xhe  notion  of  the  formation  of  the  world  by  a  fortuit- 
ous concourfe  of  atoms  produces. 

It  is  difficult  to  comprehend  how  particles  of  mat- 
ter, agitated  in  every  manner,  and  fufceptible,  as  has 
been  fuppofe^,  of  an  infinity  of  different  adhcfions, 
ihould  not  have  formed  fuch  a  mixture,  fuch  a  con- 
texture, as  would  have  rendered  the  harmonious  com- 
-pofition  of  the  univerfe  in  all  its  parts  impoflible. 

When  we  reprefent  to  ourfelves,  abftrattcdly,  the 
unlimited  number  of  chances  that  may  be  attributed  to 
a  blind  movement,  the  imagination,  unable  to  conceive, 
is  left  to  guefs,  how  an  infinite  number  of  atoms,  fn- 
dowed  with  a  property  of  uniting  thcmfelves,  under 
an  infinite  diverfity  of  movements,  could  cornpofe  the 
heavenly  bodies.  But  -as,  long  before  that  period, 
when  fuch  an  accidental  throw  would  become  prob- 
able, thefe  fame  atoms  might  have  formed  an  innume- 
rable ranltituds  of  partial  combinations;  if  one  of  thefe 
combinations  had  been  incompatible  with  the  harmony 
and  compofition  of  a  world,  that  world  could  not  have 
been  formed. 

The  fame  confiderations  may  be  applied  t«  animated 
beings.  Chance  mvght  have  produced  men  fufceptible 
of  life,  and  the  tranlmiffion  of  it,  lonj  before  chance 
gave  them  ail  the  faculties  which  they  enjoy  :  and  if 
•they  had  been  formed  with  only  four  isnfes,  they  could 
Q  HO* 


s5S        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE    OF 

not  have  acquired  a  fifth — for  ihe  fame  reafon  that  \vc 
do  not  fee  a  new  one  fpring  up«  Befides,  the  chance, 
which  might  have  produced  living  beings,  muft  have 
always  preceded  the  chance  which  afforded  thofe  be- 
ings every  thing  neceflary  for  their  fubfiftence  and  pre- 
fcrvation. 

It  may,  indeed,  be  fuppofed,  (hat  atoms  aflerebled 
in  a  manner  incompatible  with  the  difpofition  of  the 
univerfe,  have  been  feparated  by  the  continuation  of 
the  motion  introduced  into  the  irnmenfity  of  fpace. 
But  this  continual  motion,  fwfficient  to  fever  that 
which  it  has  joined,  would  it  not  have  deflroyed  that 
harmony  which  has  been  the  refult  of  one  of  the  for- 
juitous  chances  to  which  the  formation  of  the  world 
has  been  attributed  ? 

Will  fome  obje£t,  that  all  the  parts  of  matter,  once 
united  in  the  mafies  and  proportions  v.hich  conflitutc 
the  heavenly  bodies,  have  been  maintained  by  the  im- 
preffion  of  a  predominant  force  at  the  fame  time  inva- 
riable ?  But  how  is  it  poflibie  to  reconcile  the  exig- 
ence and  dominion  of  fuch  a  force  with  that  continual 
motion,  which  was  requifite  for  the  competition  of  the 
univerfe  ? 

It  may  be  alfo  demonftrated,  that  the  formation  of 
worlds,  by  the  chances  of  a  blind  motion,  and  their 
regular  continuity  of  exiflence,  are  two  propofitions 
which  difagree.  Let  us  explain  this  idea.  The  play 
of  atoms,  neceflary  in  order  to  produce  the  unforced 
maffes  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  being  infinitely  lefs 
complicated  than  that  which  is  neceffary  to  produce 
them,  inhabited  as  they  are  with  intelligent  beings, 
muft  have  happened  long  before  the  other.  Thus,  in 
the  fyftem  of  the  composition  of  the  univerfe,  by  the 
fortuitous  concourfe  or  atoms,  it  is  neceflary  to  fup- 
pofe,  that  thefe  atoms,  after  having  been  united  vo 
form  the  heavenly  bodies,  have  been  levered,  and  unit- 
ed again,  as  many  times  as  was  neceflary  to  produce 
a  planet  inhabited  by  intelligent  beings.  Since  beings 
thus  endowed  add  nothing  to  the  {lability  of  the  world 
— fmce  they  do  not  contribute  to  the  grand  coalition  of 
ail  its  parts — why  the  iatne  blind  motion  which  has 

unitcdj 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS, 

united,  diffolved,  and  afTemblcd  fo  often  every  part  of 
the  earth,  before  it  was  compofed,  fuch  as  it  is :  why- 
does  it  not  produce  fome  alteration  now  ?  It  ftould 
again  reduce  to  powder  oar  wonld,  or,  at  leaft,  let  us 
perceive  the  commencement  of  fome  new  form. 

It  is  not  only  to  a  world  inhabited  by  intelligent  be- 
ings, that  the  arguments,  juft  mentioned,  may  be  ap- 
plicable ;  for  we  perceive  around  us  an  innumerable 
multitude  of  beauties  and  features  of  harmony,  which 
were  not  neceflfcry  to  the  prefervation  of  our  world, 
and  wh^^,  according  to  every  rule  of  probability, 
woul4a^^Ry?ave  exiited.  uniefe  we  fuppofed  that  the 
earth  hJHP^  formed,  difiolved,  and  reproduced,  an 
infinity  of  times,  before  having  been  compofed  iuch  as 
we  fee  it  :  but  then,  I  wouid-afk,  why  there  were  no 
veftiges  of  thofe  alterations,  and  why  lhat  motion  has 
flopped  ? 

it  would  be  poflible,  however,  by  the  aftftance  of 
a  new  fuppofmon,  to  refol.ve  the  difficuliy  I  have  juft 
mentioned.  Some  may  fay,  that  the  union,  and  the 
£ucceflive  difpertion  of  the  univerfal  atoms,  are  execut- 
ed in  a  fpace  of  time,  fo  flow  and  infenfible,  that  our 
obfervations,  and  all  thofe  which  we  have  from  tradi- 
tion, cannot  inform  us  whether  there  will  not  be  a  fe- 
paration  of  all  the  parts  of  the  univerfe,  by  the  fame 
caufes  which  have  occafioned  their  adhefion. 

It  is  obvious,  that  tranfporting  us  into  infinity,  and 
admitting  fuch  a  feries  of  arbitrary  fu-ppolitions,  they 
are  not  indeed  expofed  to  any  rational  attacks  :  but 
making  equally  free  with  infinity,  in  order  to  oppol'e 
nonfenfe  to  nonfenle,  why  may  I  not  be  allowed  to 
fuppofe,  that  in  the  infinite  combinations  anting  from 
perpetual  motion,  men  have  been  created,  deltroyed, 
and  again  called  into  being,  with  the  fame  faculties, 
remembrances,  thoughts,  relations  and  circumftances  ; 
and  why  each  of  us,  feparated  from  our  former  exift- 
cnce,  only  by  a  fleepjwhofe  duration  is  imperceptible, 
fliould  not  be  in  our  own  eyes  immortal  beings?  In- 
finity  permits  the  fuppolition  of  thisabfurd  hypothefis  ; 
35  it  authorifes  every  flight  of  the  imagination  in  whicii 
?iine  is  reckoned  for  nothing.  We  fee^  however,  how 


iSo         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

v/e  rifk  running  into  error,  when,  with  our  limited  fa- 
culties, we  wim  to  fubjeft  the  incomprehenfibleidea  of 
infinity,  and  boldly  adjuft  it  to  the  combinations  of  finite 
Beings. 

I.«ct  us  produce,  however,  another  objection.  It  may 
*>2  faidj  that  our  planet  is  the  refult  of  chance  :  but  is 
not  this  chance  improbable,  if  we  fuppofed  that  there 
oxifted  in  the  infinity  of  fpace,  an  infinite  number  of 
other  afTembled  atoms,  equally  produced  by  the  firit 
throw  of  the  dice,  which  reprcient  all  the  poiible  forms, 
and  imaginable  proportions  ?  And  I  wouh^ytp  aik, 
by  what  laws  all  thefe  irregular  bodies,  r'erSfl^^K^;;^' 
jeft,  by  reafon  of  their  number  and  ma!'  :  .  :o  an  ir.- 
finity  of  movements,  have  not  difconcertcri  the  plane- 
tary fy item  formed,  at  the  fame  time  as  they  were,  by 
ehance  ? 

I  ought  toobfewe,  above  all,  tfrat  the  order  which  we 
are  acquainted  with,  is  a  proof  of  univerfal  order;  for, 
in  immenfity,  where  one  part  is  nothing  compared  with 
the  whole,  no  part  without  exception,  could  be  pre- 
feryed,  unlefs  it  were  in  equilibrium  with  every  other. 

Thus,  whether  ««  infinite  JucceJ/ion  of  chances 
be  fuppofed,  to  which  the  entire  mals  of  atoms  has 
been  uniformly  fubjeft— -  or  whether  the  firft  general 
throw  be  thought  fufficient,  but  divided  into  an  infin~ 
ity  of  different  Jtttions — our  reafon  oppofes  invinci- 
ble difficulties  to  the  refult  which  fome  want  to  draw 
from  thefe  various  fyftems. 

In  fliort,  we  mull  obferve,  that  in  order  to  under- 
ftand  the  accidental  formation  of  a  world,  fuch  as  we 
are  at  liberty  to  fwppofe,  the  eternal  exifience  of  every 
kind  of  organized  and  intelligent  atoms,  mufthave  pre- 
ceded the  formation  of  that  world.  I  muft  again  ob- 
ferve, that  when  they  are  obliged  to  fuch  wonderful 
firtt  principles,  and  to  admit,  in  the  beginning,  a  na- 
ture fo  aftoniQiing,  we  can  fcarcely  conceive  how  they 
can  make  it  aft  fuddenly  a  foolifh  part,  iu  order -to  finifl* 
the  work  of  the  univerfe  :  a  more  exalted  fuppofitioa 
wpuld  have  prevented  their  drawing  a  conclufion  fo  ab- 
furd. 

It  feems  to  me,  that,  notwithflanding  the  immenfity-- 
%vliicb  has  given  rife  t'o  fo  many  ridiculous  notions  a- 

tioui 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIO:  uu 

bout  the  formation  of  the  world,  they  have  fuch  re- 
femblance  to  each  other,  that  we  can  fcarcely  dif- 
cern  any  difference  :  and  confidering  the  little  circle1 
which  the  imagination  runs  over,  when  it  applies  its 
force  to  deep  conceptions,  we  think  we  difcovcr  fome- 
thing  fupernatural  in  its  fingular  weaknefs:  the  au- 
thors of  thefe  fyftems  feem  to  have  a  flavifh  turn  of 
thinking,  and  the  marks  of  their  chains  are  very  vi- 
fible. 

It  is  always  atoms  and  atoms,  that  they  make 
play  together,  either  at  different  times,  or  all  at  once, 
in  infinite  fpace :  but  when  fome  want  to  form  ideas 
of  liberty  and  will,  as  they  do  not  know  in  what  man- 
ner to  analyze  thefe  properties,  they  fuppofethem  pre- 
exifting  in  the  elementary  parts,  which  they  made  ufe 
of  to  create  their  univerfe  :  and  they  prudently  lake 
care  not  to  grant  any  aclion  to  liberty  and  will,  in  or- 
der to  prevent  any  refiftance  to  thofe  notions  on  which 
they  build  their  univerfe. 

They  would  not  render  either  more  (imple  or  cred- 
ible, the  blind  production  of  woilds,  by  fuppofing 
not  only  an  innumerable  multitude  of  organized  atoms, 
but  even  an  infinite  diversity  of  molds  to  hold  the  atoms, 
and  of  which  force  chemical  analogy  gives  us  an  idea. 
Such  a  fyitem  which  might  ferve  to  explain  a  few  fec- 
ondary  caufes  of  our  known  nature,  is  not  applic;; 
to  the  firft  formation  of  beings  ;  for  with  fuch  an  af- 
femblage  of  moulds  and  atoms,  all  the  great  difficul- 
ties would  {till  fubfift.  In  fad,  how  fhould  the  differ- 
ent moulds  have  clafled  themfelves  properly,  in  order 
to  form  the  moft  fimple  whole,  but  which  befide  re- 
quired a  fixed  meafure  and  gradation  of  ranks  ?  The 
mould  deftined  for  the  organized  atoms,  of  which  the 
cryftalline  is  to  be  compofeJ,  how  is  it  poifible  it 
fhould  have  placed  itfelf  in  the  centre  of  that  mould 
which  is  to  form  the  pupil  of  the  eye,  and  this  laR  on 
that  one  which  is  to  form  the  whole,  and  fo  on,  by  an 
exad  gradation,  whole  divifions  and  fubdivifions  are 
•enumerable  ? 

Were    they    to   fuppofe    an  infinite    fucceuion    oF 
moulds,  of  which  the  large  ft  a' traded  th,- 

-. -.me  manner  as  the  moulds  attracted   the  j*aJ!£ "*" 
O  * 


i€»         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

ihis  fuppoiition,  lefs  rediculous  than  any  other,  is  no'i 
fumcient  to  model,  even  in  imagination,  the  moft  un- 
important phenomena  of  nature.  It  is  neceifary  be- 
Jides,  that  by  the  direction  of  a  wife  and  powerful 
4brce,  the  moulds,  and  the  atoms  which  belong  to 
them,  fet  themfelves  in  motion,  without  confufion  ;  it 
is  neceflary,  tliat  thofe  deftined  to  compofc  the  exteriop 
.fibres  ftiou'd  not  obftruft  the  paffage  of  thofe  moulds 
calculated  to  form  the  interior  organs  ;  in  {hort,  thai 
every  one  of  thole  in  its  courfe  and  expanfion,  fiiould 
artfully  obferve  thofe  delicate  (hades,  which  blend  or- 
ieparate  all  the  parts  of  the  fimpleft  of  nature's  works; 
We  are  already  acquainted  with  a  force  which  a£ls 
in  all  directions,  which  difpofes  every  thing  in  due  or- 
der, tends  towards  an  end,  flops,  begins  again,  and  fin- 
4 flies,  every  moment,  a  complicated  work  :  and  this  is- 
the  intelligent  will.  And  certainly  we  have  reafon 
.to  be  aitoniflied,  that  the  only  faculty  we  have  an  in- 
timate confcioufnefs  of,  i>  the  one  phitofophers  turn* 
from,  whan  they  iuvetligate  the  admirable  order  of 
the  univerie. 

I  allow  that  they  may,  at  the  fame  time  they  reject- 
she  idea  of  a  God,  admit  as  a  principle,  the  eternal 
exigence  of  a  meshanical  force,  .which,  by  an  incom- 
prehenfible  neceffity,  directed,  towards  a  wife  end, 
every  thing  that  was  at  firlt  confufediy  fcattered  in  the- 
immenfity  of  fpace.  But  this  new  fuppofition  would- 
form'tin  hypothecs  fiinilar  to  the  fyftem  of  the  eter- 
nal'exiftence  of  the  univerfe  :  in  faft,  the  eternal  ex- 
iltenceofall  the  elements,  of  all  fubflances,  forces, 
and  properties  which  were  neceflfary  to  produce  a 
certain  order  of  things,  would  be  a  phenomenon  as  in^ 
comprehenfibie  as  the  exiftence  of  that  order  itfelf. 

We  mtift  add,  that  thefe  two  phenomena  would  be 
feparated  in  our  thoughts  only  by  an  indivifible  initanfc 
— an  initant  that  we  can  neither  defcribe  nor  imagine, 
in  the  extent  of  the  time  reprefented  by  eternity  ;  for 
any  chofen  period  would  be  fliil  too  late,  by  an  infini- 
ty of  ages.  The  necellary  eifettofan  eternal  caufo 
has  aqt,  lih.?  that  caufe,  any  period  to  which  \ye  can 
iix  its  t*0mmencernchr. 

We 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS, 

We  thus  perceive,  under  another  point 
how  vain  and  ridiculous  are  the  fantaftic  operations, 
they  imagine,  before  the  exiftence  of  the  world,  and 
which  are  attributed  fometiraes  to  the  di ford e red  move- 
ments of  chance,  and  foinetimes  to  the  reguhr  laws  of 
blind  neceffity. 

There  is  then  but  one  hypothefis  to  be  oppofed  to 
the  idea  of  a  God  :  It  is  the  fyftem  of  the  eternal  ex- 
iftence  of  the  univerle.  Such  an  atheiftical  fyflem 
will  always  be  more  eafily  defended  than  any  other  ;.. 
becaufe,  being  founded  on  a  fuppofition  without  bound$i 
it  does  not  require  to  be  embraced  by  reafoniug,  like 
all  the  hypothetical  ideas,  by  which  men  make  na- 
ture atl  according  to  an  order  of  their  own  invention* 
We  wil!,  in  the  next  chapter,  confider  this  fyitamj  and 
4jfcufs  it  by  every  means  in  our  power. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 


The  fame  fuhjett  continued. 

THOSE  who  maintain  that  the  world  fubfifis 
of  itfelf,  and  that  there  is  not  a  God,  fay,  in 
favour  of  their  opinion,  that  if  the  eternal  exiftence  of 
the  univerfe  overwhelm  oar  undemanding,  the  eternal 
exigence  of  a  Go<Hs  a  It  ill  more  inconceivable  idea  ; 
and  that  fnch  a  fuppofition  is  only  another  difficulty, 
fince,  according  to  a  common  mode  of  judging,  a  wor'v 
the  moft  wonderful  appears  a  phenomenon  Icfs  afton- 
ilhing  than  the  knowledge  of  which  it  is  the  refult. 

Let  us  h'rit  fix  our  attention  on  this  argument.  It  is 
ufelefs  to  afk.  what  is  meant  by  another  difficulty  in 
infinity.  Thofe  ideas,  which  are  reprefented  by  ft. 
Bittiar  expreflioiis,  ncceiT_iri!y  derived  from  cornpari- 
•fo'n,  are  orly  adini.f!:b!'j  in  the  narrow  circle  of  oin- 


*64         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

knowledge.  Out  of  it,  thofe  ideas  have  not  any  af> 
plication  I  and  we  cannot  fix  any  degrees  in  the  im- 
menfity  which  exceeds  the  bounds  of  our  views,  and 
in  thofe  unfathomable  depths  which  are  out  of  the 
reach  of  our  intellectual  powers. 

Undoubtedly,  oar  mind  is  equally  loft,  both  in  try- 
ing to  form  a  diftinftidea  of  aGrod,  and  in  endeavour- 
ing to  defcribe  the  eternal  exigence  of  the  world, 
without  any  caufe  out  of  itfelf.  However,  when  we 
try  to  glance  our  thoughts  towards  the  firil  traces  of 
time— when  we  try  to  rife  almoil  to  the  beginning  of 
beginnings,  we  feel  diftinclly,  that,  far  from  confider- 
ing  the  eternal  exigence  of  an  intelligent  caufe  as  in- 
creafing  the  difficulty,  we  only  find  repofe  in  that 
opinion;  and  inltead  of  forcing  our  mind  to  adopt 
fuch  an  opinion,  and  thinking  we  wander  in  an  imagi- 
nary fpace,  we  find  it,  on  the  contrary,  more  conge- 
nial with  our  nature  ;  while  order  unites  itfelf  to  the 
idea  of  a  defign,  and  a  multiplicity  of  combinations 
to  the  idea  of  an  intelligence.  Thus  we  rife  from  iit- 
tle  to  great  things  ;  and,  reafoning  by  analogy,  we 
fhall  more  eafily  conceive  the  exigence  of  a  Being  en- 
dowed with  various  unlimited  properties,  which  we 
an  part  partake — we  fhall,  I  fay,  more  tafiiy  conceive 
fuch  an  exigence,  than  that  of  a  univerfe,  where  a!l 
would  be  intelligent,  except  the  firft  mover.  The 
workman,  undoubtedly,  is  fuperior  to  the  work  :  but 
according  to  our  manner  of  feeling  and  judging,  an  in- 
telligent combination,  formed  without  intelligence,  will 
always  be  the  moft  extraordinay,  as  well  as  the  moft  in- 


comprehenfible  phenomenon* 
It  is  not  inditte 


ferent  to  obferve,  that,  according  to 
the  fyftem  I  combat,  the  more  the  world  would  ap- 
pear to  us  the  admirable  refult  of  wifd&m,  the  lefs 
power  fhould  we  have  to  draw  any  deduction  favour- 
able to  the  exiftence  of  a  God  ;  fince  the  author  of 
a  perfeft  work  is  not  eafily  traced  as  the  feeble  reiterat- 
ed labours  of  mediocrity.  Thus,  all  thofe  who  par- 
ticularized the  beauties  of  nature,  would  ftupidly  injure 
the  caufe  of  religion,  and  weaken  our  belief  in  the  ex- 
igence of  a  Supreme  Being,. .  It  leems  tome,  that  it  is 

eafy 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  163-' 

eafy  to   perceive    what  an    ill-founded  argument  that 
ttiuft  fce,  which  leads  us  to  a  conclufion  fo  abfurd. 

The  attentive  view  of  the  univerfe  fhould  make  us 
rmflruft  the  judgment,  v/Sich  we  form,  of  that  which 
is  the  moft  fimple  in  the  order  of  things ;  for  all  the 
general  operations  of  nature  arife  from  a  movement 
more  noble  and  complicated  than  we  can  eafily  form 
an  ideaof«  We  fhould  furely  find,  contrary  to  a  per- 
fe£l  fiinpiicity  of  means,  that  a  circuit  of  two  hundred 
millions  of  leagues,  which  our  globe  makes  every  year, . 
is  necelfary,  in  order  to  produce  the  fucceflive  changes 
of  feafons,  and  to  affure  the  re-prod-uclien  of  the  npc- 
effary  fruits  ;  we  fliould  find,  that  the  diftance  of  thirty- 
four  millions  of  leagues,  between  the  fun  snd  ih^ 
earth,  was  neceflary  to  proportion  the  rays  of  light  to 
thu  delicacy  of  our  organs.  However,  if  even  in  the 
narrow  circle  we  traverfe,  we  do  not  difcover  any  cou- 
ftant  applicatien  of  that  fimple  order,  of  which  we 
form  an  idea,  how  could  fucn  a  principle  ferve  to  guide, 
dur  opinions,  at  the  moment  when  we  elevate  our  me- 
ditations to  the  firil  link  of  the -va-ft  chain  of  beings— 
w-hen  we  undertake  to  examinCj  whether,  throughout 
the  immenfity  of  the  univerfe,  there  exift,  or  not,  an 
intelligent  caufe  ?  What  would  become,  in  that  im- 
aienfuy,  of  the  infignificant  phrafe,  it  is  one  difficulty 
Wore?  The  buzzing  fly  would  be  lefs  ridiculous,  if, 
capable  of  perceiving  the  order  and  magnificence  of  a- 
palace,  it  afferted,  that  the  architect  never  exilted. 

.Every  thing  indicates,  that,  according  to  our  differ-* 
cnt  degrees  of  fenfe  and  knowledge,  what  is  fimple, 
and  what  is  eafy,  have  a  very  different  application. 
We  may  continually  obferve,  that  thefe  expreflions 
are  not  interpreted  in  the  fame  manner,  by  a  man  of 
moderate  abilities  and  a  man  of  genius.  However, 
the  diftance,  which  feparates  the  various  degrees  of  in- 
telligence, with  which  we  are  acquainted,  is  probably- 
very  trifling  in  the  univerfal  fcale  of  beings.  All  ou?- 
reflexions  would  lead  us  then  to  prefume,  that  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  human  mind,  the  fimple  is  our  com- 
pounded, the  eafy  our  wonderful,  and  the  evident  our 
'Conceivable. 

Aftftr 


s66        OF  TOE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

After  having  examined  the  principal  arguments  of 
the  partifans  of  atheiftical  fyderr.s,  which  we  now  at- 
tack ;  let  us  change  the  fcene.  and,  in  the  anidft  of  the 
labyrinth, in  which  we  are  placed,  try  to  find  a  clue  for 
our  meditations. 

We  are  witnefies  cf  the  exigence  of  the  world,  and 
intimateiy  acquainted  with  our  own  :  "thus,  either  God 
or  matter  muft  have  been  eternal  ;  and  by  a  natural 
eonfequence,  an  eternal  exigence,  which  is  an  idea  the 
nip  ft  incompreheafible,  is,  however,  the  mofl  incontef- 
tible  truth.  Obliged  now,  in  order  to  fix  our  opinion, 
to  choofe  between  two  eternal  exigences,  the  one  in- 
telligent and  free,  the  other  blind  and  void  of  all  con- 
fdoufnefs,  why  not  prefer  the  firft  ?  An  eterna!  exift- 
ence  is  an  idea  fo  allonifliing,  fo  much  above  our  com- 
prehenfion,  that  we  decorate  it  with  every  thing  fub- 
iime  and  beautiful ;  and  nothing  deferves  more  theic 
decorations  than  thought. 

Would  it  wot  be  ftrange,  that,  in  our  fyftematic  di- 
vifions,  it  was  only  to  thought,  and  confequently  to  all 
that  was  moft  admirable  in  our  nature,  that  we  refufe 
eternity,  while  we  grant  it  to  matter  and  its  blind  com- 
binations ?  What  a  fubverfion  of  all  proportion  !  that 
we  fliould  believe  in  the  eternal  exiftcnce  of  matter,  be- 
caufe  it  is  prefent  to  our  eyes,  and  yet  not  admit  th* 
eternal  exiftence  of  an  intelligence  ;  while  that,  which  • 
we  are  endowed  with,  becomes  the  fource  of  our  judg- 
ment, and  even  the  guide  of  our  fenfes  ! 

And  by  what  other  Angularity  we  fhould  grant  th« 
faculty  and  the  conicioufnefs  of  intelligence,  only  to 
that  fmall  part  of  the  world  which  is  reprefenfed  by  ani- 
mated beings  ?  Thus  the  whole  of  nature  would  be  be- 
low a  part;  and  if  no  fpirit  animated  the  univerfer 
man  would  appear  to  have  reached  his  ultimate  perfec- 
tion ;  though  we  fee  in  him  but  a  faint  {ketch,  a  weak  - 
lhadow  of  fomething  more  complete  and  admirable. 
We  perceive  that  he  is,  to  Ipeak  thus,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  thinking;  and  all  his  cares,  ail  his  ef- 
forts, to  extend  the  empire  of  that  faculty,  only  inform 
him,  that  he  tends  continually  towards  an  end,  from 
which  he  is  always  diltant.  In  fliort,  in  his  greateft 

«xertions.y 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  167 

£>;erticm,  he  feels  his  weaknefs.  He  ftudies,  but  he 
cannot  know  himfelf.  He  makes  a  few  petty  difcov- 
eries,  fees  forae  trifling  wheels,  while  the  main  fpring 
cfcapes  his  fearch.  He  has  fallen  into  the  world,  like 
a  grain  of  fand  thrown  by  the  winds.  He  has  nei- 
ther a  confcioufnefs  of  his  origin,  nor  a  forefight  of  his 
end.  We  perceive  in  him  all  the  timidity  and  mif- 
trnft  of  a  dependent  being.  He  is  conftrained  by  in- 
ftinft  to  raifeto  heaven  his  wiflies  and  contemplations  : 
and,  when  he  is  not  led  aftray  by  intoxicating  reafon, 
he  fears,  feeks  to  adore  a  God,  and  rejects  with  dif- 
dain  the  rank  which  audacious  philofophers  affign  him 
in  the  order  of  nature. 

1  muft  alfo  add,  that  the  fentiment  of  admiration, 
which  I  cannot  ftifle,  when  I  turn  my  attention  on  the 
fpiritual  qualities  we  are  endowed  with,  would  be  in- 
ienfibly  weakened,  if  I  were  reduced  to  confider  man 
himfelf  as  a  fimple  growth  of  blind  matter;  for  the 
moft  aftonifhing  production  would  only  infpire  me  with 
a  tranfitory  emotion,  unlefs  I  can  refer  it  to  an  intelli- 
gent caufe.  I  muft  difcover  a  defign,  a  combination  be- 
fore I  admire  ;  as  I  have  need  to  perceive  feeling  and 
affection,  before  1  love. 

But  as  foon  as  I  fee  in  the  human  mind  the  (lamp 
of  Omnipotence — and  it  appears  to  me  one  of  the  re- 
fuits  of  a  grand  thought — it  reaffurnes  its  dignity  ;  and 
all  the  faculties  of  my  foul  are  proflrate  before  fuch  A 
Wonderful  conception. 

It  is  then  united  with  the  idea  of,a  God, that  the  fpi- 
ritual faculties  of  man  attract  my  homage  and  captivate 
my  imagination.  In  reflecting  on  thefe  fublime  fa- 
culties, fludytng  their  admirable  offence,  I  am  confirm- 
ed in  the  opinion,  that  there  exifts  a  (overeign  intelli- 
gence, foul  of  nature,  and  that  nature  itfelf  is  fubjcft 
to  its  laws.  Yes,  we  find  in  the  mind  of  man  the  firll 
evidence,  a  faint  fhadow  of  the  perfection  which  wo 
mult  attribute  to  the  Creator  of  the  univerfe.  What 
a  wonder,  indeed,  is  our  thinking  faculty,  capable  of 
ib  many  things,  yet  ignorant  of  its  own  nature!  1  am 
equally  aftonimed,  by  the  extent  and  limits  of  think- 
ing. An  immeiiie  fpace  is  open  to  its'refcarches}  and 

at 


OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

at  ^the  fame  time  it  cannot  comprehend  the  feercts 
%vhich  appear  moft  proximate  with  it  ;  as  the  grand 
motive  of  a£Hon,  the  principle  of  intelleBual  force,  ever 
remains  concealed.  Man  is  then  informed,  every  in- 
flant,  of  his  grandeur  and  dependence  :  and  thefo 
thoughts  muft  naturally  lead  to  the  idea  of  Omnipo- 
tence. There  are,  in  thofe  limits  of  our  knowl- 
edge and  ignorance,  in  that  confufed  and  conditional 
light,  all  the  evidence  of  defign ;  and  it  feems  to  me, 
iometimes,  that  I  hear  this  command  given  to  the  hu- 
man foul  by  the  God  of  the  univevfe  :  "Go  admire  a 
portion  of  my  univerfe,  fearch  for  happinefs,  and  learn, 
to  love  me.  But  do  not  try  to  raife  the  veil,  with 
•which  I  have  covered  the  fecret  of  thy  exiflence.  I 
liave  compofed  thy  nature  of  feme  of  the  attributes 
which  conilitute  my  own  etfence.  Thou  wouldft  b« 
too  near  me,  if  1  fhoald  permit  thee  to  penetrate  the 
myfteries  of  it.  Wait  for  the  moment  deltined  by  my 
"wifdom;  till  then,  thou  canft  only  reach  me  by  reve- 
rence and  gratitude." 

Not  only  vthe  wonderful  faculty  of  thinking  con- 
nects us  with  the  univerfai  intelligence  ;  but  all  thofe 
inconceivable  properties,  known  by  the  name  of  liber- 
Iv»  judgment,  will,  memory,  and  forefight  ;  it  is,  I'M 
•fhort,  the  auguft  and  fublime  aflereblage  of  all  our  in- 
tellectual faculties.  Are  we,  in  faQ,  after  the  con- 
templation of  fuch  a  grand  phenomenon,  far  from  con- 
ceiving a  God  ?  Wo,  undoubtedly  ;  we  have  with- 
in us  a  feeble  image  of  that  infinite  power  we  feek  to 
difcover.  Man  is  htmfeif  a  uriverfe.  governed  by  a 
fovereign  :  and  we  are  much  nearer  the  Supreme  In- 
telligence, by  our  nature,  t/ian  by  any  notion  of  the 
primitive  properties  of  matter — :propertiei,  from  which 
tome  wifli  to  make  the  fyilem  oi  the  world  and  its  ad- 
aiirajbie  harmony  flow. 

It  feems  to  me,  that  cur  thinking  faculty  is  too 
flightly  treated  in  the  greater  number  of  philofophic 
fyftems  :  and  feme  have  beer-  io  much  afraid  of  hon- 
ouring it,  that  they  will  not  admit  it  to  be  a  Hippie 
and  particular  principle,  when  the  fubjecl  of  (he  quef- 
rton  is  the  immortality  of  the  foul  ;  nor  will  they  cor- 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  1^9 

{ider  it  as  a  univerfal  principle,  when  they  difcufs  the 
opinion  of  the  exigence  of  a  God. 

It  is  equally  fingular,  that  they  wifh  to  corn- 
pole  of  matter  a  foul  endowed  with  the  moft  fublim« 
qualities  ;  and  they  pretend,  at  the  fame  time,  that  the 
world,  in  which  we  fee  intelligent  beings,  had  not  for 
a  contriver  and  principal,  any  beings  of  the  fame  na- 
t'.iret  This  fuppofuion,  however,  would  be  as  reafon- 
able  as  the  other  is  weak  :  but  it  teems  to  me,  that  they 
like  better  to  attribute  order  to  confuiion,  than  to  or- 
der itfelf. 

We  feek  to  penetrate  the  fecret  of  the  exiftersce  of 
the  univerfe  ;  and  when  we  reflect  on  the  caufes  of 
that  vaft  and  magnificent  difpofttion,  we  can  only  at- 
tribute it  to  what  feems  the  moft  marvellous  and  anal- 
ogous to  fuch  a  compofition,  thought,  intention,  and 
will.  Why  then  (hould  we  retrench  from  the  forma- 
tion of  the  world  all  thofe  fubllme  properties  ?  Are 
we  tot-aft  fparingly  in  an  hypothefis,  in  which  all  the 
wonders  of  nature  are  concentered?  It  is  by  the  fpi- 
ritual  faculties  with  which  man  is  endowed,  that  he  re- 
mains matter  of  the  earth,  that  he  lias  fubdued  the  fero- 
cious animals,  conquered  the  elements,  and  found  a 
Shelter  from  their  impetuofity .  It  is  by  thefe  faculties 
that  man  has  conftrufted  fociety,  given  laws  to  his  own 
paflions,  and  improved  all  his  means  of  happinefs.  In 
iliort,  nothing  has  ever  been  done,  but  by  the  aid  of 
his  mind  :  and  in  his  fpecu\ations  on  the  formation  of 
the  world,  and  on  the  admirable  relations  of  all  the  parts 
of  the  univerfe,  that  -which  he  wi'fiies  not  to  admit, 
and  will  dare  to  rejeft,  is  the  intelligent  powers  and 
aftion  ot  thinking.  It  feems  Ivke  men  difputing  about 
the  means  which  have  been  made  ufe  of  to  ereft  a  py- 
ramid, who  name  all  the  inftrurnents,  except  thofe  that 
they  found  at  the  foot  of  the  edifice. 

Habit  alone  turns  our  attention  from  the  union  o£ 
wonders  which  compoie  the  foul  ;  and  it  is  thus  un- 
fortunately, that  admiration,  lively  light  of  the  mind 
and  feelings,  does  not  afford  us  any  more  inftrucliori. 
We  mould  be  very  differently  affc-aed,  if,  for  the  firft 
time.  \ve  contemplated  the  meancfl  part  of  this  admira- 


i7o        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

ble  whole  !  But  even  then,  in  a  little  time,  the  ftrong 
conviftion  of  the  exigence  of  a  God,  would  be  worn 
away,  and  become  what  it  is  at  prefent.  But,  let  me 
be  permitted,  in  order  to  render  this  truth  more  fink- 
ing, to  have  recourfe,  for  a  moment,  to  fiftion.  Let 
us  imagine  men,  us  immoveable  as  plants,  but  endow- 
ed with  fome  one  of  our  fenfes,  enjoying  the  faculty 
of  reflexion,  and  enabled  to  communicate  their  thoughts. 
1  hear  thefe  animated  trees  difcourle  about  the  origin 
of  the  world,  and  the  firft  caufe  of  ?ll  things.  They 
advance,  like  us,  different  hypothefes  on  the  fortuitous 
movement  of  atoms,  the  laws  of  fate  and  blind  necefli- 
t/  :  and  among  the  different  arguments,  employed  by 
iome,  to  contell  the  exigence  of  a  God,  Creator  of  the 
univerfe,  that,  which  makes  the  greateft  impreffion,  is, 
that  it  is  impoffible  to  conceive  how  an  idea  (hould 
become  a  reality;  or  how  the  deiign  of difpofing  the 
parts  fhould  influence  the  execution,  fince  the  will  be- 
ing a  fimple  wi(h,  a  thought  without  force,  has  not  any 
m sans  to  metamorpofe  itfelf  into  action:  -but  in  vain 
Would  thefe  immoveable .fpeclators  of  the  univerfe  wifli 
to  change  their  fituation,  to  raife  a  fhelter  againil  the 
ampetuofity  of  the  winds,  or  the  fcorching  heat  of  the 
fun  :  yet  then  it  would  be  evidently  ahfurd,  to  imagine 
the  exiftence  of  a  faculty  effentially  contrary  to  the 
immutable  nature  of  thing.  Let,  however,  in  the 
rnidft  of  this  converfation,  a  fapeFnatural  power  ap- 
pear, and  fay  to  them,  what  would  you  think,  then,  if 
this  wonder,  whofe  exillence  you  regard  as  impoffible, 
fhould  be  executed  before  your  eyes ;  and  if  the  facul- 
ty of  acting,  according  to  your  own  will,  were  to  be 
Suddenly  given  you  ?  Seized  with  aftonifhment,  they 
•would  proftrate  themfetves  with  fear  and  refpeft  ;  and 
from  that  inflant,  without  the  flighted  doubt,  would 
believe  they  had  difcovered  the  fecret  of  the  fyftem  of 
the  world  :  and  they  would  adore  the  infinite  power  of 
intelligence  :  and  it  is  to  a  like  caufe  woftiould  attrib- 
ute the  difpofition  of  the  uniyerfe.  However,  the 
fame  phenomenon  which  would  appear  above  belief, 
and  out  of  the  limits  of  pofiibility,  to  thole  who  have 
never  been  a  witaefs  of  it,  that  wonder  exuls  in  our 

world. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  171 

t^orld,  We  fee  if,  we  experience  it  every  inftant  ; 
ihough  the  force  of  habit  weakens  the  imprefficn,  and 
eradicates  our  admiration* 

The  hypothecs  I  have  juft  mentioned,  might  even 
be  applied  to  the  fudden  acquifition  of  all  the  means 
proper  to  communicate  ideas ;  and  to  the  prompt  dif- 
coveries  of  the  other  properties  of  our  mind  ;  but  fev- 
eral  of  theie  properties  conftitute,  in  fuch  an  edential 
manner,  the  eflence  of  the  foul,  that  we  cannot,  even 
in  imagination,  feparate  them  any  more  than  we  can 
detach  aclion  from  will,  and  will  from  thought.  There 
are  fome  fpiritual  faculties,  and  thofe  the  moil  won- 
derful which  we  cannot  define,  and  which  we  mould, 
not  have  even  ftippofed  to  exifl,  had  we  not  poueiTed 
them  :  and  if  it  had  been  po'Iible  to  have  known  them 
before  we  were  endowed  with  them,  the  inventers  of 
fydems  would  have  pointed  out  this  allonifhing  means, 
as  the  only  one  applicable  to  the  competition  of  the 
admirable  harmony  of  the  univerfc, 

We  fhall  be  led  to  the  fame  reflexions,  when,  ceaf- 
ing  to  expatiate  on  the  greateft  wcr.ders  of  our  nature, 
we  bound  ourfeives  to  confider  the  human  mind  at  the 
moment  when  its  action  may  be  perceived'.1  To  render 
this  obfcrvation  more  clear,  let -us  follow  a  man  of 
genius  in  the  courfe  of  his  labours ;  and  we  mail  fee 
Rim  at  once  embrace  a  multitude  of  ideas,  compare 
them,  notwithstanding  their  difiance,  and  form,  from 
fuch  a  mixture,  a-diltinft  refuit,  proper  to  direft  his 
public  or  private  conduct.  Let  us  confider  h:m  ex- 
tending and  multiplying  thefe  firfl  combinations,  and 
connecting  them,  by  an  invifible  web,  to  fome  fcattered 
points,  which  his  imagination  has  fixed  in  the  vaft  re- 
gions of  futurity;  With  the  afiiHance  of  thefe  magic 
fuccours,  we  fee  him  approaching  the  time  which  does 
not  yet  exifh  But  we  fee  him  in  his  career,  aided  by- 
accumulated  knowledge,  more  fubtle  than  the  rays  ©f 
the  fun,  and  yet  feparated  with  an  admirable  order  ; 
more  fleet  and  difperfed  than  the  iight  vapours  of  tha 
morning,  and  fliil  fubjeft  to  the  will  of  that  inconceiv- 
able power,  which,  under  the  name  of  memory,  heaps 
wp;  the  acquifuious  of  the  mind,  in  order  to  affift  it 

afterwaids 


*72          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  O? 

afterwards  in  its  new  acquirements.  Bat  let  us  exam* 
ine,  {till  further,  this  man  of  genius,  when  he  depofits, 
by  means  of  writing,  his  different  refiexions  :  and  let 
us  afk,  how  he  knows  quickly,  that  an  idea  is  new, 
and  that  a  ft)  le  has  an  original  turn  ?  Let  us  again  in- 
quire, how,  in  order  to  form  fuch  a  judgment,  he  makes 
•with  celerity  a  recapitulation  of  the  thoughts  and 
images  employed  by  others,  to  illuftrate  the  fubje6h 
they  have  treated,  while  years  and  ages  were  rolling 
away.  In  ftion,  let  every  one,  according  to  his  fbength, 
*ry  to  penetrate  into  thefe  myfterious  beauties  of  the 
•human  understanding  :  and  let  him  inquire  afterward? 
about  the  impreffion  which  he  receives  from  a  like  me- 
ditation. There  is,  perhaps,  as  great  a  difference,  if 
I  may  be  allowed  to  fay  fo,  between  the  moil  perfect 
vegetable  and  the  human  mind,  as  between  it  and  the 
Deity.  To  extend  this  idea,  we  have  only  to  fup- 
pofe,  that,  in  the  immeufity  which  furrounds  us,  there 
exHls  a  gradation  equal  to  that  we  have  perceived  in 
the  little  fpace  we  are  permitted  to  infpett.. 

The  author  of  a  celebrated  work  accufes  men  of 
preemption,  becaufe,  when  they  endeavour  to  trace 
toe  nru  principle  oi  things,  u/  C^:"psr:n£  lhS5£9HH? 
faculties  with  it,  they  feem  to  think  that  they  ap- 
proach it.  But,  what  other  part  mould  we  be  able  to 
lake,  when  we  are  called  to  reafon  and  to  judge  ?  It 
as  not  fufficient,  that  the  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being 
may  be  metaphyficai  :  it  is  neceffary  further,  fome  will 
-argue,  that  we  even  try  to  render  it  abilraft,  by  re- 
moving it  out  of  our  imagination,  and  that  we  feek  for, 
in  our  judgment  and  opinions,  a  fupport  which  may- 
be in  a  manner  abfent  from  ourfelves,  and  abfoiutelv 
foreign  to  our  nature.  All  this  cannot  be  underftood. 
'We  confefs  that  we  have  not  fufficient  itrength  to 
know  the  efifence  and  perfection  of  God  :  but,  giving 
way  to  abftra&ion,  we  extinguifh  our  natural  light, 
and  deprive  ourfelves  of  the  few  means  we  have  to  ob- 
tain this  knowledge.  We  can  only  be  acquainted 
with  unknown  things  by  the  help  of  thofe  we  know  : 
Vf.e  (hall  be  led  aftray,  if  we  be  obliged  to  take  another 
;  and  modern  phiiofophers  often  leek  to  attack 

intimate 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  ;73 

rntimate  fentiments  by  arbitrary  ideas,  of  which  an 
imagination  the  molt  capricious  is  the  only  founda- 
tion. 

It  will  then  always  be  furprizing,  that,  in  our  con- 
templations and  habits  of  thinking,  the  wifdom  of  the 
defign,  the  harmony  of  the  whole,  and  the  perfection 
of  parts,  are  manifeft  traces  of  intelligence:  and  yet 
that  we  ihould  renounce,  fuddenly,  this  manner  of 
feeling  and  judging,  in  order  to  attribute  the  forma- 
tion of  the  univerfe  to  tke  effeft  of  chance,  or  the  eter- 
nal laws  of  blind  neceflity  :  and  it  is  poflible,  that  w? 
can  deduce  the  fame  conferences  from  an  admirable 
order,  as  from  wild  confuhon  ?  Fafts  fo  diiferent, 
principles  fo  contrary }  fhould  not  lead  to  the  fame  con* 
clufion.  The  magnificent  fyftem  of  the  univerfe 
ought  to  have  fome  weight,  when  we  cenjefture  about 
its  origin  :  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  perfuade  us, 
that  in  inveftigating  the  moll  exalted  truths,  we  ought 
to  cenfider  all  the  knowledge  we  acquire  by  the  view 
of  nature,  as  merely  indifferent.  Men  are  carried  ve- 
ry far,  when  they  reject  the  arguments  drawn  from 
final  caufes.  It  is  not  only  a  firigle  thought  they 
would  deftroy  ;  it  is  the  fource  of  all  our  knowledge 
ihey  would  dry  up. 

Men  infenlibly  ceafe  to  perceive  a  connexion  be^ 
tween  the  exigence  of  a  God,  and  the  diiferent  mira- 
cles with  which  we  are  furrounded.  But  all  would  be 
changed,  if  God  exhibited  the  numerous  atls  of  his 
power  fucceffiveiy,  inftead  of  difplaying  ihern  all  at 
once.  Our  imagination,  animated  by  filch  a  move  • 
ment,  would  rife  to  the  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being".  It 
is  then,  becaule  an  accumulation  of  wonders  agran- 
dizesthe  univerfe— »it  is  becaufe  a  harmony,  not  to  be 
equalled,  feems  to  convert  an  infinity  of  parts  into  an 
admirable  whole — and  that  profound  wifdom  maintains 
it  in  an  immutable  equilibrium—- it  is,  in  fhort,  becauia 
infen'ible  gradations  and  delicaie  iharles  render 
more  perfed  the  wonders  of  nature,  that  men  arc 
ilruck  with  aftonu'liment,  or  loft  in  a-ioration. 

We  want,  fay   you,  new    phenomena  to  determine 

cur  pecfuafiont     i)o  you  forget,  that  ai!,  which  is  o^- 

F  2  fcred 


i74        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE    OF 

fered  to  our  view, already  furpafles  our  underftandingf 
If  the  lead  miracle  was  to  be  effected  before  you,  you 
would  be  ready  to  bend  your  proud  reafon.  But  be- 
eaufe  the  inoft  grand  and  wonderful,  which  the  im- 
agination itfelf  can  form  an  idea  of,  has  preceded 
your  ex'.ftence,  you  receive  no  impreffion  from  it!  all 
appears  (imple  to  you,  all  neceflary.  But  the  reality  of 
the  wonders  qf  the  unjverfe  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
inftant  you  are  allowed  to  contemplate  thtm  ;  your  pil- 
grimage on  earth,  is  it  not  a  period  imperceptible,  in  the 
midll  of  eternity  ?  Admiration,  furprize,  and  all  the 
a8e£Hons  of  which  man  is  fufceptible,  do  not  change 
the  nature  of  the  phenomena  which  fiirround  him  :  and 
his  intelligence  reflects  but  a  very  fmall  part  of  the  won» 
ders  of  the  univerfe. 

We  have  no  need  of  a  revolution  in  the  order  of  na- 
ture, to  difcover  the  power  of  it-s  Author,  The  fibres 
of  a  blade  of  grafs  confound  our  intelligence:  and 
when  we  have  grown  old  in  ftudy  and  observation,  we 
continually  difcover  new  objects,  which  we  have  not 
jm'eftigated,  and  perceive  new  relations :  we  are  ever 
in  the  midil  of  unknown  things  and  incomprehenfible 
fee rets. 

How  •  er,  fuppofing,  for  a  moment,  the  exiftence  ol 
extraordinary  miracles  which  we  fhould  be  irnpreiFecl 
with  ;  it  is  eafy  to  conceive,  that  thefe  miracles  wouid 
not  have  on  men  the  influence  we  prefume  ;  for  if  they 
were  frequent,  and  if  they  happened  only  at  regular  pe- 
riods, their  Hrft  imprefHon  would  (lowly  be  weakened; 
and  at  laft,  men  would  range  them  in  the  clafs  of  the 
fucceffive  movements  of  eternal  matter.  But  if,  on  the 
contrary,  there  was  a  long  interval  between  thefe  mi- 
racles, the  generations  which  fucceed  the  actual  wit- 
rsefTes  of  them,  wouid  acciiTe  their  anceltors  of  credu!- 
ity,  or  conteft  the  truth  of  thofe  traditions,  which  trani"- 
milled  the  accout  of  a  revolution  contrary  to  the  corn- 
soon  courfe  of  nature. 

Some  may  Oil!  fay,  that  in  order  to  render  manifefl 
the  exiftence  of  the  Supreme  Being,  it  would  be  ne- 
ceffary,  that  men  were  punctually  anfwercd,  when  they 
addrefs  their  prayers.  Bur  the  inrrKtice  of  our  wiihes 

up  op- 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  17$ 

tt'pon  events,  if  this  influence  were  habitual  and  gene- 
ral, would  it  be  fufficient  to  change  the  opinion  of  thofe 
who  fee,  with  indifference,  that  innumerable  multitude 
of  aftions  which  are  fo  miraculoufly  fubjeft  to  our  will? 
Would  they  not  ftiil  find  fome  reafon  for  confidering 
fuch  an  increafe  of  power,  as  the  neceflary  refult  of  the 
eternal  fyftem  of  the  univerfe  ?  Thus,  whatever  might 
be  the  meafure  of  intelligence,  added  to  that  we  now  en- 
joy— in  fliort,  though  a  number  of  new  wonders  were 
accumulated — men  could  ftill  oppofe  to  that  union  of  mi- 
racles the  fame  objections,  and  the  fame  doubts  they  do 
not  now  fear  to  raife  againft  the  wonders  we  are  daily 
witnefles  of.  It  is  difficult,  it  is  impoffible,  to  make  a 
c-onflant  or  profound  impreiTion  on  men  who  are  only 
iufceptible  of  aftomihment  in  the  fliort  tranfiticn  from 
the  known  to  the  unknown*  They  have  but  a  mo- 
ment to  feel  ihis  emotion,  and  it  is  from  the  flownefs  of 
of  their  comprehenfion,  or  the  continual  fuccefiion  of 
the  phenomena  fubmitted  to  their  infpecVion,  that  the 
duration  of  their  admiration  depends.  And  perhaps, 
o.ur  faculties  and  powers  would  excite  more  furprifc,  if, 
in  order  to  fubject  our  movements  to  our  will,  it  were 
rseceffary  to  give  our  orders,  and  to  pronounce  them 
with  a  loud  voice,  as  a  captain  does  to  his  folditrs. 
However,  fuch  a  conftitution  would  be  a  degree  lefs 
•wonderful  than  that  we  poffefs. 

1  will  anticipate  another  objection.  We  advance 
gradually,  feme  will  fay,  in  difcovering  the  fecrets  of  na- 
ture. The  power  of  attraction,  that  grand  phyiical  fac- 
ulty, has  only  been  known  about  a  century  :  and  ob- 
fervations  on  the  effefls  of  electricity  are  flili  more  re- 
cent. Every  age,  every  year,  adds  to- the  treasure  of 
our  knowledge;  and  the  time  wiilairive,  perhaps, 
when,  without  having  recourfe  to  any  myfterious  opin- 
ions, we  (hall  have  explained  all  the  phenomena  which 
ilill  aftonifti  us. 

It  ;s  not  at  firft  conceivable,  how  our  paft  difcove- 
nes,  aiid  aU  thcfe  which  may  in  future  enrich  the  hu- 
:na<f  imnrj,  v;o;:id  ever  free  us  from  the  neceility  of 
piacing  a  tiif:  r::ufe  at  the  termination  of  our  reflexj-, 
ens ;  for  the  more  we  perceive  of  new  links  in  ihe  va£ 

difpofit 


*76         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  Of 

difpofition  of  the  univerfe,  the  more  we  extend  th« 
magnificence  of  the  work,  and  the  power  of  the  Cre- 
ator, A  feries  of  fuccefsfu!  exertions  may  reveal,  per- 
haps, the  fecret  of  fome  phyfical  properties,  fuperior 
in  force  to  thofe  wehave  experienced  ;  bur,  even  then, 
all  the  movements  of  nature  would  be  fubordinate  to  a 
few  general  laws ;  and  when  we  mould  diitinguifh  thefe 
laws,  the  refult  of  our  researches  will  demonftrate  fnnply 
the  exiflence  of  a  greater  unity  in  the  lyttem  of  the 
world  ;  and  this  character  of  perfection  would  be  im» 
prefled,  if  "it  were  poflible,  ftiil  more  en  us:  for  in  a 
work,  fuch  as  the  univerie,  it  is  the  fimple  and  regular 
relations  which  announce,  above  all,  the  wifdom  and 
power  of  the  Difpofer  ;  becaufe  our  admiration  could 
never  be  excited  by  an  affemblage  of  incoherent  ideas, 
whofe  chain  would  every  inftant  be  broken.  But,  I 
know  not  by  what  habit  or  blindnefs  it  is,  that  when 
men  have  difcovered  a  principle,  uniform  in  its  a£tior>, 
and  have  given  to  that  principle  a  denomination,  they 
believe  that  their  allonimment  ought  to  ceafe.  In 
fact,  attraction  and  eleclncity  are  not  fo  much  now 
fubjefts  of  furprife,  as  a  means  to  free  us  from  the  ad* 
miration  due  to  the  magnificent  refult  of  thofe  fingular 
properties.  In  fliort,  we  are  habituated  to  confider, 
•with  indifference,  every  general  effeft,  of  which  we 
acquire  a  conception  ;  as  if  even  this  conception  wese 
not  one  of  the  rcoft  noble  of  the  phenomena  of  nature. 
Some  will  fay,  that  men,  by  degrees,  becoming  famili- 
arized with  their  own  minds,  defpife  all  they  can  eaft- 
Jy  underfland.  Their  competitions  are  then  the  only 
origin  of  their  vanity  :  for  when  they  examine  them- 
felvcs  individually,  or  when  they  judge  of  men  in  gea- 
eralj  they  have  fuch  a  mean  opinion  of  themielves, 
that  they  do  not  highly  value  their  diicoveries. 

We  ought  to  place,  among  the  number  of  ideas  the 
mod  extenfive  and  general,  that  of  fiufFon  on  the 
formation  of  the  earth,  But  this  idea,  fuppofing  it  as 
iufl  as  it  is  beautiful,  only  explains  to  us  one  of  the 
gradations  of  this  fupeib  work.  I  fee  the  earth  form- 
ed by  an  emanation  of  the  fun  ;  I  fee  it  animated  and 
become  fertile,  when  it  has  received,  by  flow  decree, 

its 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  177 

m  temperature  :  and  I  fee,  befide,  iflue  out  of  its  lap 
all  the  beauties  of  nature — and  that  which  furprifes  me 
iiiil  more,  all  the  beings  endowed  with  inftinft  or  in- 
telligence. But  if  the  elements  of  thefe  incomprehen- 
fible  productions  had  been  prepared  or  fimply  difpofed 
in  the  fiery  body  which  animates  our  fyttem,  I  tranf- 
fer  to  it  my  aflonifhment,  and  equally  have  to  fee  k 
for  the  Author  of  fo  many  wonders. 

I  muft  now  fix  my  attention,  for  a  few  moments^ 
on  the  moft  metaphyfical  part  of  this  work.  We  can, 
perhaps,  form  an  idea  of  a  world  exifting  without  a  be- 
ginning, and  by  the  laws  of  blind  necelTity,  provided 
that  world  was  immoveable  and  invariable  in*  all  its 
parts  ;  but  how  apply  the  idea,  of  eternity  to  a  con- 
tinual fucceflion  ?  As  fuch  a  nature  is  necelTanly 
compofed  of  a  beginning  and  end,  we  cannot  other- 
wife  define  the  idea  of  fucceffion.  Thus  we  are  con- 
ftrained  to  elevate  ourfelves  to  a  firft  Being  exifting  by 
hinifelf,  when  we  have  before  our  eyes  a  conilant  re- 
volution of  caufes  and  effects,  of  dettruclioa  and  life, 
It  is  impolTible  lp  have  any  idea  of  motion  without 
that  of  a  beginning. 

Tbs  difficulty,  would  not  be  removed,  by  fay  in g? 
that  the  whole  of  the  univerfe  is  immutable,  and  tne 
parts  only  fubjecl  to  change  ;  for  a  whole  of  this  kind, 
without  any  relation  whatever,  either  real  or  imaginary, 
a  like  whole  has  only  an  ideal  circumfcription,  which3 
in  faft,  is  not  fufceptible  of  an  alteration.  But  fuch  a 
circumfcription  only  prefems  us  an  afiemblage  of  pofi- 
tivc  things  contained  in  its  circle  :  and  it  is  not  in 
iludying  thofe,  nor  in  examining  the  different  parts  of 
the  unknown  whole,  which  we  call  the  univerfe,  that 
we  are  allowed  to  draw  confecjuences,  or  to  form  a 
judgment.  Thus,  feeing  only  a  fuccclilon.,  we  ration- 
ally feel  the  necelTity  of  a  firfi  caufe. 

But,  fome  will  fay,  you  are  emangled  in. the  fame 
difficulty,  when  you  fuppofe  the  eternity  of  a  God  ; 
fora  feries  of  defigns  in  an  intelligent  being  ihould 
lead  to  the  idea  of  a  commencement,  as  well  as  the 
iuccelTions  of  the  phyfical  world. 

This  propofition,  undoubtedly,  is  not  eafily  cleared 


s73         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

up,  like  all  thofe  whofe  folution  appears  to  be  united 
to  the  knowledge  of  infinity.  We  cannot,  however, 
hinder  ourfelves  from  perceiving,  that  the  phyfical 
generations  lead  us,  in  a  marrner  ffmple  and  manifeft,' 
to  the  neceflity  of  a  firft  principle  :  and  we  ought  to 
fearch  for  this  principle  out  of  ourfelves,  fince  our  na- 
ture does  not  furnifh  any  idea  of  it  ;  whereas  the  fuc- 
ceffive  combinations  of  the  mind  may  relate  to  an 
origin,  of  which  we  have  not  anyj  conception,  and 
•which  {ecms  united,  in  fome  manner,  to  thefe  fame 
combinations.  In  fa6t,  we  can  eafily  form  a  dillincl 
idea  of  a  faculty  of  thought,  antecedent  to  the  action 
of  thinking,  and  which  might  even  be  feparated  by 
fuch  intervals  as  the  imagination  cou-ld  conceive.  It 
is  the  fame  with  liberty,  that  intelleclual  power  of 
which  we  have  the  confcioufnefs,  at  the  fame  time  that 
it  remains  abfolutely  idle. 

I  fhali  add,  that,  even  in  the  narrow  circle  of  our 
thoughts,  it  is  true,  the  operations  of  the  mind  appear 
to  us  often  dependent  on  each  other.  Yet,  fometimcs 
their  chain  is  fo  broken,  that  our  ideas  feem  really  to 
iflue  out  of  nothing  :  inUead  of  which,  in  every  other 
production,  we  know,  there  is  always  a  vifible  tie  be» 
tWeen  that  which  is,  and  that  which  was.  We  muft 
not  forget,  that  at  the  very  time  our  ideas  appear  to  us 
connected,  that  fucceffion  is  to  be  attributed  to  our 
weaknefs  and  ignorance,  rather  than  to  the  mind  con- 
fidered  in  a  general  manner.  Circumfcribed  in  all  ouc 
means,  we  are  obliged  to  go  continually  from  the  known 
to  the  unknown,  from  probability  to  certainty,  from 
experience  of  the  paft,  to  conjectures  about  the  future. 
But  this  gradation,  this  courie,  ought  to  be  abfolutely 
foreign  to  an  intelligence  without  bounds,  which 
knows  and.  which  fees  all  at  the  lame  time  :  and  per* 
haps  we  are  in  the  way  of  this  truth,  when  we  per- 
ceive among  us,  the  claim  of  true  genius,  and  the  tur- 
bulent whirlpool  of  folly; 

In  fhorr,  it  is  not  men  perfuaded  of  the  exiflence  of 
a  God,  that  we  need  require  to  tranfport  themfelves  be- 
yond, if  I  may  fay  fo,  the  domainof  thought,  in  order 
to  fejtich  for  proofs  of  their  opinion ;  atheifts  alone 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS, 

"want  fuch  an  effort;  fince  they  alone  refill  the  influ- 
ence of  the  (imp. eft  fentimcnts  and  moft  natural  argu- 
ments; fince  they  aione  bid  u&miflrufl  that  diflincl:  con- 
nexion which  we  perceive  between  the  Supreme  In- 
celligence  and  the  perfection  of  order  ;  that  train  of 
caufes  and  eflefts,  between  the  idea  of  a  God  and  all 
the  propenhUes  of  the  foul.  It  is  tbefe  confiderauonss 
intelligible  to  all,  which  give  new  force  to  our  opin- 
ions. 

Direcled  by  thefe  reflexions,  and  wifliing  to  invefli- 
gate  in  a  ufeiul  manner  the  fubjeft  I  have  undertaken, 
1  fhall  not  engage  in  the  arguments  which  turn  on  th« 
creation  of  the  world.  It  is  fufficient  for  me  to  have 
perceived,  that  the  id^a  of  the  creation  of  the  univerfe, 
is  not  more  inconceivable  than  the  idea  of  its  eternity* 
I  am  not,  indeed,  obliged,  with  thofe  who  adopt  the 
laft  fyftem,  to  fuppofe  fomething  growing  out  of  noth- 
ing. But  fubflituting  the  idea  of  an  eternal  exiflence, 
anfiead  of  that  of  nothing,  is  a  thought  which  equally 
terrifies  my  imagination ;  for  my  mind  knows  not 
where  to  place  thai  eternity,  and,  in  order  to  compre- 
hend :tv{lill  furrounds  it  with  a  vacuum.  In  thefyf- 
tem  of  a  created  univerfe,  I  fee  fomething  ccm'ing 
out  of  nothing,  by  the  will  of  a  Being  whom  1  can 
form  an  idea  of.  But  in  the  fyflem  of  the  eternity  of 
matter,  my  faculties  are  abforbed  in  endeavoring  to  em- 
brace it.  In  fhort,  both  of  thefe  modes  of  exiftence 
appear  to  me  in  the  midfl  of  a  vague  infinity,  which  no 
human  power  can  conceive:  and  if  fometimes  the  e- 
ternal  exiflence  of  the  univerfe  feem  lefs  incomprehen- 
fibie  than  its  creation,  it  is  only  becaufe  fuch  an  idea 
eludes  examination,  and  precludes  reafoning, 

The  idea  of  a  Creator  is  undoubtedly  equally  above 
cur  comprehenfion  ;  but  we  are  led  to  it  by  all  our 
feelings  and  thoughts  :  and  if  we  be  flopped  in  the  ef- 
forts which  we  make  to  reach  the  cauie  we  feck,  it  is 
by  obilacics  which  we  can  even  attubute  to  the  will  of 
that  power  we  are  fearching  to  dilcover.  Inflead  o£ 
ihat,  contemplating  the  uniform  and  infipid  rotation 
of  an  eternal  exiftence,  we  are  almofl  driven  to  defpair; 
i,hat  is  to  fay,  we  feel  the  impoffibUiiy  of  conceiving 


i8o        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

the  nature  of  things,  and  the  certainty  neverthelefs,  that 
there  exifts  not  any  veil  defigriedly  placed  between 
that  nature  and  our  underftandings. 

I  muft  frill  make  fome  further  obfervations.  We 
lee  a  refembiance  of  creation  in  the  continual  repro* 
duftion  of  all  the  bounties  of  the  earth:  and  our  mor- 
al fyftem  offers  a  ftill  more  ftriking  one,  in  the  forma- 
tion of  ideas  which  did  not  exift  antecedently.  Our 
feelings  appear  another  proof  of-the  fame  truth  ;  for  they 
have  not  any  evident  connexion  with  the  caufe  we  af- 
fign  them  :  thus,  without  habit,  we  might  fee  as  great 
a  difference  between  certain  exterior  emotions  and  i he 
various  affeclions  of  our  louls,  as  we  can  conceive  be- 
tween the  exigence  of  the  world  and  the  idea  of  a  Cre- 
ator. 

We  perceive,  alfo,  that  the  univerfe  has  all  the  cha- 
racters of  a  production  ;  characters  which  confift  in 
the  union  of  a  multitude  of  parts,  whofe  relations  are 
fixed  by  a  fingle  thought.  In  ihort,  even  the  fuccef- 
iion  of  time  announces  intelligence  ;  for  we  know  not 
how  to  place  that  fucceflion  in  the  midft  of  an  eternal 
cxiflence.  We  cannot  conceive  any  different  periods 
in  an  extent  in  which  trfere  is  not  a  beginning  ;  for 
before  we  arrive  at  any  of  thefe  periods,  there  muft 
haye  been  always  an  infinite  fpace  ;  befides,  there  be- 
ing no  beginning,  confidered  abftracledly,  annihilates 
the  idea  of  intervals,  fince  they  could  not  have  two  fix- 
ed points.  Thus,  the  introduction  of  the  paft,  the 
prefent,  and  the  future,  into  the  midfl  of  eternity, 
leems  due  to  an  intelligent  power,  \vho  has  modelled 
this  imrnenfe  uniformity,  and  governs  the  nature  of 
things. 

1  ought  not  to  dwell  long  on  thefe  reflexions.  To 
give  a  bafis  to  religious  opinions,  it  is  not  neceiTary  to 
conceive  of  creation  in  its  metaphyhcal  effence;  it  is 
fuflicient,  to  believe  the  exigence  of  a  Supreme  Being, 
Creator  and  Preserver  of  nature,  the  model  of  wifdom 
and  goodnefs,"  the  Proteclor  of  rational  beings,  whofe 
providence  governs  the  world.  We  lofeallour  {Irerigth, 
when,  extending  too  far  our  meditations,  we  afpire  to 
•know  and  explain  the  iecrets  of  infinity,  We  then 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  i&t 

•only  txhibit  to  the  adversaries  of  religion  the  faint 
frretch  of  our  opinions,  and  the  laft  flruggles  of  a  rea«, 
fon  weakened  by  its  own  efforts.  It  is  much  better  to 
nfe  thofe  arguments  which  fenfe  and  feeling  are  able  to 
defend.  We  fliould  candidly  confefs,  that  our  noblelt 
faculties  have  immutable  limits  ;  one  degree  more 
would  perhaps  diffufe  a  hidden  light  on  the  queftions, 
whofe  examination  difconcerts  us.  There  is  not,  per- 
haps, any  mind  accuftomed  to  meditation,  winch  has; 
not  had  feveral  times  pre-fenuments  of  this  truth  ;  for 
the  firft  glimmering  of  a  new  perception  feems  to  out- 
run thinking  ;  and  fuch  is  its  proximity,  that  we  im- 
agine one  Hep  more  would  enable  us  to  catch  it.  But 
our  hope  is  diffipated,  we  cannot  grafp  the  fleeting 
fhadow,  and  fall  back  again  into  the  fad  conviction  of 
our  impotence.  Alas!  in  that  infinite  fpace,  which- 
our  intellectual  powers  try  to  run  over,  there  are  only 
immenfe  deferts,  where  the  mind  cannot  find  repofej 
or  the  thoughts  meet  any  afylum.  TheTe  are  the  re- 
gions whofe  entrance  feems  to  have  been  defolated,  in 
order  that  the  moll  unbounded  imagination  might  not 
obtain  any  knowledge  of  them.  But  will  you  dare  to 
fay,  that  there  flops  all  intelligence,  there  finifh  the 
myfleries  of  nature  ?  Would  you  e.xpeft  to  pcfTefs 
the  fecrets  of  time  in  attributing  an  eternal  exiflence 
to  all  we  know?  Certainly,  we  are  too  infignificant  to 
promulge  fuch  decrees  :  we  enjoy  too  fmall  a  portion 
of  eternity  to  determine  what  belongs  tort. 

The  molt  probable  thought  is,  chat  our  reafon  is  in- 
fafficicnt  to  reach  the  explanations  we  wilh  to  unfold. 
The  chain  of  beings  above  us  every  inflant  reminds  us 
of  this  truth  :  and  it  appears  fmgular,  that,  perceiving 
fo  diftinftly  the  bounds  of  our  fenfes,  we  (hould  not  be 
induced  to  think,  that  our  intelligence,  apparently  fo 
extended,  may  neverthelels  run  over  a  very  circum- 
fcribed  fpace.  Our  imagination  goes  much  farther 
than  our  knowledge ;  but  its  domain  is  perhaps  only  a 
point  in  what  is  yet  unexplored  :  and  it  is  neceffar^ 
to  penetrate  thofe  unknown  regions,  to  difcover  the 
truths  which  illullrate  the  myfteiifrs  that  furround  us  : 
'but  there  is  a  Being  who  knows  them  :  Omnifcience  is 

Q  « 


i82         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  O-F 

at  the  fummit  of  thofe  gradations  of  intelligence  which 
\VQ  trace.  We  know  nothing,  we  do  not  difcover 
any  refult,  but  through  the  aifiilance,  of  experience  and 
obfervation  :  and  we  only  krow  the  world  by  the  lit- 
tle front  fcene  which  meets  our  view.  Is  it  rational 
to  fuppofe,  that  only  this  kind  of  knowledge  exifts  in 
the  univcrfe  ?  Men,  in  the, flow  prcgrefs.of  their  judg- 
ment, referable  children  :  but  even  this  condition  recals 
the  idea  of  a  father  and  «  tutor.  Every  thing  howev- 
er, fhows  us,  that  the  phenomena  of  nature  reiate  to  a 
grand  whole.  We  fee  that  its  difperfed  productions 
are  united  to  feme  general  caufe.  It  is  the  fame  with 
human  knowledge  :  more  admirable  than  the  rays  of 
light  fpread  through  immenfity,  it  is  an  emanation  froin 
the  moil  peifeft  light.  In  fhort,  if  fpace.  if  time  it- 
felf,  thofe  two  exigences  without  bounds,  be  iubjecl  to 
divifion,  why  fhonld  we  not  be  induced  to  think,  that 
the  degrees  of  knowledge  we  experience  and  conceive, 
are  alfo  only  a  part  of. an  univerfal  intelligence  ? 

Of  all  the  objection?  again/ft  the  idea  of  a  God,  the 
\veakeft,  in  tny  opinion,  is  that  drawn  from  the  mix- 
ture of  troubles  and  pleafures  to  which  human  life  is 
expofed.  A  God.  fome  will  fay,  ought  to  unite  eve- 
ry perfeclion  :  ,and  we  cannot  believe  in  his  exiHence, 
•when  we  perceive  limits  in  his  power  or  good nefs. 

This  is  ailimfy  argument;  for  if  men  do  not  ad- 
jnit  as  a  proof  of  the  exigence  of  a^God,  all  that  we 
difcover  of  wifdom.  harmony,  and  intelligence  in  the 
univerfe,  what  right  have  they  to  ufe  an  apparent  con- 
trail between  Iqvereign  power  and  goodnefs,  in  order 
to  attribute  the  formation  of  the  worid  to  chance? 
Would  it  be  juft,  that  the  defeHs  of  a  work  mould  be 
brought  as  a  proof  againft  the  exiftence  of  a  workman^ 
while  the  beauty  of  the  fame  work  was  not  allowed  .lo 
fupport  a  contrary  opinion  ?  We  fhould  reafon  in  a 
different  manner.  Diforder  and  imperfection  merely 
po:n>  < •••  t  >o  us  a  negation  of  -certain  qualities.  We 
mi: If  'v  general  terms,  throw  an  odium  on  the  whole, 
in  or -;er  to  banifh  the  idea  of  au  intelligent  hand; 
whereas,  to  firengthen  the  other  opinion,  it  is  fufficient 
th^t  particular  parts  announce  art  and  genius.  Thus, 

wh-t* 


REHIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  183 

-when  we  enter  a  palace,  if  we  there  find  diftin£l  marks 
of  talents,  we  attribute  its  ereftion  to  an  architect,  even 
though  in  a  part  of  the  edifice  we  fhould  notdiftinguifh 
any  traces  of  invention. 

I  have  already  had  occafion  to  (how  how  we  are  led 
tothefe  incomprehenfible  extremes,  when  we  endeavour 
exactly  to  proportion  the  wifdom  and  power  of  an  In- 
fiftite  Being  :  and  I  (hail  not  againdweilon  this  argument 
nor  repeat,  that  from  any  imaginable  hypothecs,  we 
ftiight  draw  this  deduction,  that  Omnipotence  could 
have  produced  more  happineis 

There  are  ideas  which  appear  contrary  to  reafon, 
only,  becaufe  we  cannot  perceive  them  in  one  point  of 
view  ;  and  we  difcover  ihis  truth,'  not  only  in  confid- 
ering  things  which  arc  foreign  to  our  nature,  but  when 
we  turn  our  attention  on  the  evenfs  which  com^  daily 
under  our  infpe&ion.-  Why  do  we  then  fuppofe,  that 
\ve  can  comprehend  the  moft  grand  and  noble  thoughts? 
Is  it  confident  with  the  idea  of  an  Infinite  Power, 
that  we  refufe  to  credit  the  exiftence  of  infinite  good- 
nefs  ?  Is  it  confident  with  the  idea  of  Infinite  Wif- 
dom, that  we  wiH  not  ad  nit  the  exiilence  of  Omnip- 
otence ?  Nay  more  ;  is  it  confident  with  the  idea  of 
infinite  chances,  that  we  imagine  the  abfurd  fyflems 
concerning  the  formation  of  the  world  ?  We  ufe  in- 
finity for  every  thing,  except  to  place  above  us  an  in- 
telligence, whofe  properties  and  eilence  our  reafon  can- 
not determine. 

We  are  loft  in  a  boundlefs  uncertainty,  when  wo 
try  to  go  beyoni  the  limits  of  human  powers.  Thus, 
after  having  collected  all  the  forces  ot  our  fouls,  to 
enable  us  to  penetrate  the  exiftence  of  a  God,  we  ought 
not  to  exhauft  ourfelves  in-  fubtleties,  vainly  endeav- 
ouring to  conceive,  in  a  juft  accepiation,  ana  under 
evident  relations,  various  attributes  of  an  Infinite  Be- 
ing, who  has  chofen  to  make  himfelf  known  to  us  in 
a  certain  meafure,  and  under  certain  forms ;  and  it  is 
too  much  to  require  of  the  worfhippers  of  God,  to  de- 
fend themfelves  againft  thofe  who  conteft  hisexiftence9 
and  difpute  abo-it  the  nature  of  his  perfections.  I  am 
fu  from  fuppoGng  any  obftaelt  to  the  execution  of 


i34        OF  THE  IMPORT A-NCE" OF 

Ills  will:  but  I  mould  be  full  of  the  fame  religious  fent- 
iments,  if  I  knew  that  there  exiiled  order  and  !a\vs  in 
the  nature  of  things,  which  the  Divine  Power  has  a 
faculty  of  modifying,  and  that  it  cannot  entirely  de- 
itroy.  I  fliouid  not  lels  adore  the  Supreme  Being,  if, 
at  the  fame  time,  that  his  various  attributes  were  in 
eonftant  union,  it  were}  nevertheless,  by  degrees,  that 
he  produced  happinel's.  I  fhould  filemly  refpeft  the 
feerets  which  would  efcape  my  penetration,  and  wait 
•with  refpeftfnl  fubmifnon,  filllhe  clouds  were  diffipat- 
ed  which  (till  ftirround  me.  What  then!  always  in 
ignorance  and  obfcurity  ?  Yes,  always  :  fuch  is  the 
condition  of  men,  \vhen  they  wife  10  go  beyond  the 
limits  traced  by  the  immutab'e  laws  of  nature.  But 
the  grand  truths,  which  we  can  eafily  perceive,  are  fuf- 
ficient  to  regulate  our  conduct,  and  afford  us  comfort. 
That  there  is  a  God,  every  thing  indicates  and  loudly 
announces:  but  I  cannot  difcover  either  the  myfteries 
«f  his  effence,  or  the  intimate  connexion  of  his  various 
perfe6Lons.  I  plainly  fee  in  a  crowd  the  monarch  en- 
circled by  his  guards;  I  know  his  laws.  I  enjoy  the 
crder  he  has  prefcribed  :  but  1  aflHt  not  at  his  coun- 
cils, and  am  a  ftranger  to  his  deliberations.  J  even 
perceive,  that  an  impenetrable  veil  fepaiates  me  frorr. 
the  defigns  of  the  Supreme  Being  ;  and  1  do  not  un- 
dertake to  trace  them.  I  commit  myfelf  with  confi- 
dence to  the  protection  of  that  Being,  whom  I  believe 
good  and  great  ;  as  I  would  rely  on  the  guidance  of  a 
friend  during  a  dark  night :  and  while  I  have  my  foot 
in  the  abyfs,  I  will  depend  on  him  to  fnatch  me  front 
the  danger,  aaid  cairn  my  terrors. 

If  we  might  be  allowed  the  comparifon,  we  fliouFd 
fay,  that  God  is  like  the  fun,  .which  we  cannot  fled- 
fallly  gaze  at :  but  throwing  our  eyes  downx  we  per- 
ceive its  rays,  and  the  beauties  it  fpreads  around.  How- 
ever,  men,  who,  either  through  a  miuruil  of  their  un- 
cierftanding,  or  the  nature  of  it,  have  only  by  their  rev- 
e.rence  an  intercourfe  with  God,  feel  moft  forcibly  the 
impreffion  of  his  grandeur;  as  it  is  at  the  extremity  of 
the  lever,  that  we  ftrongly  experience  its  power* 

We 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  185 

confider  the  general  aflent  of  nations  and  ages, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  exiftence  of  a  God,  as  a  remark- 
able prefumption  in  favour  of  that  opinion.  But  fuch> 
a  proof  would  loofe  part  of  its  force,  if  we,  in  time,  re- 
garded as  a  kind  of  moral  phenomenon  the  relation 
which  all  men  may  have  with  an  idea  to  fublime,  notwith- 
llanding  the  vifibledifparity  which  exifts  between  their 
different  degrees  of  underftanding  and  knowledge  :  and 
this  obfervation  mould  lead  to  a  thought,  that,  in  the 
midft  of  the  clouds,  which  obfcure  the  idea  of  a  God, 
fen  iibility  becomes  our  beft  guide.  It  feesrs  the  moil  in- 
nate part  of  ourfelves,  and  in  this  refpeft  to  communi- 
cate, in  the  moil  intimate  manner,  with  the  author  of 
our  nature. 

The  fight  advances  before  our  other  fenfes ;  the  im- 
agination goes  beyond  it:  but  as  it  is  obliged  to  tracs 
its  own  path,  fenfibility,  which  bounds  over  all,  goes 
ftill  further. 

The  reafoner,  in  his  efforts  to  attain  to  profound 
metaphyfical  truths,  forms  a  chain  whofe  links  rather 
follow  each  other,  than  are  joined.  The  mind  of  rnan 
not  being  fufficiently  fubtle  and  extended,  cannot  al- 
ways unite  exactly  that  infinite  multitude  of  ideas  which 
crowd  at  the  determmatisn  of  our  meditations.  Senfi- 
bility  is  then  the  beft  calculated  to  conceive  the  fub- 
Iwiie  truth,  which,  not  being  compofed  of  parts,  is  nor 
fufceptible  of  feftion,  and  can  only  be  comprehended 
in  its  unity.-  Thus,  while  the  mind  often  wanders  in  vain 
fpeculations,  and  loies  itlelf  in  metaphyficai  labyrinths^ 
the  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being  is  irnpreffed,  without  ef- 
fort, in  alimpie  heart,  which  is  flrll  under  the  influence 
of  nature.  Thus,  the  man  of  feeling,  as  well  as  the 
intelligent  man,  announces  a  Supreme  Being,  whom 
we  cannot  difcover,  without  loving  :  and  this  union  of 
all  the  faculties  of  the  foul  towards  the  fame  idea-— . 
this  emotion,  which  refembies  a  kind  of  inftinft,  (vight 
to  be  connected  with  a  firft  caufe — as  there  is  for  eve- 
ry thing  a  firft  model. 

It  is,  perhaps,  alfo,  the  confufed    fentiment  of  that 

SYft  model,  which  leads  us  to  religion,  when  we  fee  a 

virtuous  man,     Men,   with  their  fatal  fyilems,  would 

2  alter 


i86        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE    OF 

alter  and  annihilate  every  thing  :  bat  the  comfortable- 
hopes  and  thoughts  which  arife  from  a  profound  and' 
rational  admiration,  will  ftill  refift  that  deftruftiono 
They  vainly  wifh  to  raake  us  confidcr  fuchafentiment 
as  the  umple  piay  of  blind  matter;  while  all  within  us 
feerm  to  invite  us  to  fearch  for  a  more  noble  origin. 
And  how  can  we  avoid  feeing,  in  thefe  great  qualities  of 
men,  noblenefs  of  foul,  elevation  of  genius-,  expanfion 
of  heart,  love  of  order,  and  interefting  goodnefs— -how- 
avoid  feeing,  in  this  rich  piclure,  the  reflexion  of  a  ce- 
ieftial  light,  and  concluding  from  it,  that  there  is  fome- 
wfaere  a  hril  intelligence  ?  Do  rays  exiit  without  a.  cen- 
tre of  light  ?'  I  know  not,  but  hurried  away  by  thefe 
reflexions,  I  fometimes  think,  innate  goodncfs,  which" 
we  admire  as  the  firft  rank  in  the  fcale  of  intelligent 
beings,  in  a  more  immediate  manner,  leads.to  the  knowl-' 
•edge  of  the  Author  of  nature  :  and  when  this  innate, 
morality  75  found  united  in  feme  perfons  with  a  pre- 
<bntiment  of  the  Divine  nature,  there  is,  in  this  agree- 
ment, a  charm  which  jmpreifes  us— a  kind  of  unknown, 
charafter,  which  attracts  our  refpecl: :  as  every  tender 
and  f jblime  thought-  is  roufed  by  the  idea  which  we 
form  of  tbe' fouls  of  Socrates  and  Fenelon. 

At  the  fame  time,  actuated  by  funilar  fentiments, 
we  experience  a  painful  emotion,  when  v/e  are  inform- 
ed, that  there  exiit  men,  enemies  to  ail  thefe  ideas; 
.men,  who  had  rather  debafe  themfelves  and  humanity 9 
by  attributing  their  origin  to  chance,  than  refolve  tce 
connder  the  fpiritual  faculties,  which  they  enjoy,  as 
a  faint  feetch  of  the  fcvereign  intelligence.  Thuj,. 
inftead  of  employing  their  minds  to  lend  fame  force  to 
thefe  comfortable  truths,  or,  at  leall,  probabilities  fa 
dear,  they,  on  the  contrary,  difpute  their  reality,  and 
f'eek  to  embarrafs  by  fophiftry,  the  doftrines  which', 
tend  to  fortify  the  fidl  difpqfitions  of  our  nature;  We 
fee  the  maleriaiifis,  rather,  than  elevate' themfelves, 
drag  us  with  them  from  h^ppiaefs  and  hope.  They 
only  g?:2i.  rrrrnily  to  the  dult,  out  of  which. 'they  fay, 
•we  fprung.  What  honour,  however,  can  they  derive 
from  thofe  more  enlightened  views  which  they  boail 
of,  If  they  be  on'y  the  refult  of  a  grow. a  fuinilar  to 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  187 

th'at  of  plants ;  and  if  our  fpiritual  faculties,  fo  far 
from  being  loll  in  fom«  raeature  in  the  infinite  intelli- 
gence— fo  far  from  being  united  to  a  grand  deiiiny,  be 
only  affociated  to  this  frail  ftrufture,  which  is  every- 
day, every  hour,  expofed  to  various  dangers  ?  What 
credit  fliould  we  derive  from  thefe  faculties,  if  they 
only  enabled  us  to  defcribe,  with  precifion,  the  alraoft. 
imperceptible  circle  of  tim«,  in  which  we  live  and  die 
—if  they  only  ferved  to  raife  us  above  our  equals  du- 
ring that  (hort  moment  of  life,  which  is  haltening  to 
lofe  itfelf  in  endlefs  ages,  as  a  light  vapour  in  the  im- 
menfity  of  air  ?  how  can  you  fpeak  with  delight  of 
fame  and  promotion,  when  you  voluntarily  renounce 
the  grandeur  anfing  from  the  moil  noble  origin  P  You 
are  proud  of  the  celebrity  of  your  country,  the  re- 
nown of  your  families  :  and  the  only  glory  you  defir«, 
not  to  partake,  is  that  which  ennob.'es  the  whole  hu- 
man race  I '. 

Jn  Ihort,  I  would  afk,  by  what  ftrange  error  of  the 
imagination  it  isr  that  in  meditating  on  the  exigence  of 
a  God,  men  do  not  go  further  than  to  doubt  it  ;  fines 
to  fupport,  to  guide  our  judgment,  we  have  only  an. 
undemanding  whole  weaknefs  we  continually  expe- 
rience ;  fince  it  is  capable  of  gradual  improvement,  as. 
knowledge  is  perpetually  accumulating  ?  There  ex.. 
ifls  not  any  proportion  between  the  meafure  of  our 
knowledge  and  the  unbounded  extent  which  is  dif«. 
played  before  us  ;  there  is  not  any  between  the  uftion 
of  all  our  powers  and  the  profound  rnyfteries  of  nature. 
How  then  fhaH  xve  dare  to  fay,  that  men  are  arrive^ 
at  the  pinnacle  of  knowledge,  and  that,  in  the  endiefs. 
ages  to  come,  there  will  never  break  forth  a  more  pene- 
trating faculty  than  our  weak  reafon  ? 

However,,  were  men  even  to  lofe  the  hope  of  ad- 
vancing one  flop  in  metaphyfical  relearches,  and  to 
perdft  in  declaring  infufEcient  and  imperfeft  the  vari- 
ous proofs  of  the  exnlcnce  of  a  God  .;  it  is  not  to  be, 
contciled,  that  all  other  fyftems.  arc  furrounded  with* 
Hi ii  greater  obfeurity  ;  and  they  would  only  have  a. 
doubt  as  the  leiult  of  their  reafo-ning,  JBut  have. 
*hsy  ever  reflc6ted  on  the  influence  a  fingle  dcubt  has, , 

wken  - 


!8S        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

when  that  doubt  is  applied  to  an  idea,  whofe  relations 
are  without  bounds?  Let  us  try  to  reprefent  an 
equal  probability  in  a  circumfiance  which  only  con- 
cerns the  interefb  of  this  tranfitory  life  :  and  we  mall 
foon  fee  what  force  the  fame  degree  of  probability 
would  h?ve  in  the  immenfurable  relations  of  the  finite 
to  the  infinite.  Thus,  not  only  an  uncertainty,  but 
the  flighted  preemption  of  the  exiftence  ofa'God, 
would,  in  the  eftimation  of  found  reafon,  be  a  fuf- 
ficient  foundation  for  religion  and  morality.  Yes,  we 
might  thus  humbly  pray  j  though  deprefled  by  doubt  :— 
64  O  thou  God,  who  art  unknown  !  fovereign  good- 
nefs,  whofe  image  is  ftamped  on  our  hearts— if  thou 
exift,  if  tbou  be  Lord  of  this  magnificent  univerfe— 
deign  to  accept  our  love  and  humble  homage." 

Undoubtedly,  thefe  thoughts  are  fufficient  to  in- 
fpire  with  refpeft  and  fear,  beings  ignorant  of  their 
origin  :  who  have  fo  little  to  facrifice  and  fo  much  to 
dehre  ;  who,  on  account  of  their  extreme  weaknefs, 
cannot  felinquifh  fome  hopes,  and  muft  attach  them- 
felves  to  a  fixed  and  predominant  idea,  which  may 
ferve  as  an  anchor  in  the  midft  of  the  inconfiftencies 
and  agitations  of  iheir  minds. 

It  is,  perhaps,  becaufe  the  time  when  every  thing 
will  be  explained,  is  fiill  far  diflant,  that  many  exag^ 
gerate  their  doubts,  and  often  confound  them  with  a 
decided  incredulity.  I  form  to  my  imagination,  a  fol- 
emn, period,  when  the  inhabitants  of  the  e^rrh  will  be 
inflrufted  in  the  mylleries  of  their  nature  and  the  fe- 
crets  of  futurity;  and  that  fome  fignal  phenomenon- 
will  mark  the  awful  day  proper  to  fix  our  attention  : 
and  I  am  intimately  perfuaded,  that,  in  fuch  a  mo- 
ment, the  men  tn oft  indifferent  about  religion  will  ap- 
pear difmayed,  and  even  recognife,  that  what  they  took 
for  convifton,  was  but  a  wavering  opinion,  only  fup- 
pprted  by  feif-love  and  a  defire  of  diftinclion. 

At  the  fame  time  that  I  form  this  judgment  of  the 
pretended  incredulity  of  feveral  perfons,  I  will  ven- 
fure  a  reflexion  of  a  different  kind  :  It  is,  that  fuper- 
fkial  faith  in  the  exiftence  of  God.  and  the  opinions 
depend  on  it,  is  not  equivalent  in  effetl,  to 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  1% 

doubt  retained  in  proper  bounds  :  and  perhaps,  if 
thefe  bounds  were  determined,  the  belief  of  one  clafs 
ef  fociety  would  be  !efs  wavering. 

I  anticipate  another  objeftion.  TThofe  doubts, 
fbme  may  fay,  thofe  doubts  which  fo  many  men  can- 
not fmotner,  are  they  not  an  argument  againft  the  ex- 
iftence  of  a  God  ?  For  a  powerful  Being,  fuch  as  we 
fuppofe  him,  could  have  infpired  a  general  confidence 
in  that  noble  truth  :  he  needed  not  to  have  recourfe 
to  fupernatural  means  ;  his  will  was  fufficient.  1  con- 
fefs,  that  we  can  eafily  add,  in  imagination,  feverd 
degrees  to  our  knowledge  and  happmefs  ;  but  that 
condition  of  our  nature,  of  which  the  caufe  is  un- 
known, can  never  be  contrary  to  the  idea  of  the  ex- 
iflence  of  a  God.  AH  is  limited  in  our  phyfical  prop- 
erties and  in  our  moral  faculties  ;  but  within  thefe 
confines  we  fee  (he  work  of  a  Supreme  Intelligence  : 
and  we  difcover,  every  inftant,  the  traces  of  a  divine 
hand,  fufficiently  obvious  to  direft  our  opinions.—- 
Unllable  reafoning,  concerning  what  we  fhouid  be, 
can  never  weaken  the  diihnci  confequences  which 
arife  from  what  we  are. 

When  the  Laplander,  in  his  cave,  hears  by  chance 
the  diftant  echo  of  thunder,  he  fays,  that  Godjlill  lives 
on  the  high  mountain  ;  and  is  it  in  the  very  bofom 
of  munificent  blellings,  with  the  light  of  philofophy, 
that  men  would  wifh  to  reject  the  idea  of  the  exiftenco 
of  a  Supreme  Being  ?  What  an  abufe  of  reafon  !  — 
Infinity  ought  to  overwhelm  the  molt  vigorous  and  en- 
lightened underftanding,  make  the  wife  man  timid  in 
his  judgment,  and  inform  him  what  he  is.  Can  man 
do  better  than  give  way  to  the  admiration  the  view* 
of  (o  many  incomprehenfible  wonders  muft  neceflarily 
infpire,  and  with  fervour  feize  that  chain  of  miracles, 
which  feems  to  promife  to  lead  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  Creator  of  them  ?  Can  he  be  more  nobly  em- 
ployed, than  in  tracing  an  opinion,  not  only  the  moft 
probable,  but  the  moft  grand  and  interefring  P  Alas ! 
if  we  fliould  ever  lofe  it — the  idea  is  not  to  be  en- 
dured.  Clouds  and  thick  darknefs  would  overwhelm 
ihe  feelings  wlich  feem  to  dart  before  our  reafon,  to- 
explore,  the  unknown  country  we  pant  after  ;  and  a 

meUnehely , 


*9o        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

melancholy  and  eternal  filence  would  appear  to  fur- 
round  ail  nature.  We  fhould  call  for  a  comforter, 
implore  protection — but  where  is  it  to  be  found  ?  We 
Ihould  fearch  for  hope — but  it  is  forever  fled — Alas  I 
this  is  not  all.  A  terrific  thought  ftnkes  me.  I  hefi- 
tate  a  moment  to  communicate  it  :  yet,  it  feems  to  me, 
that  we  lend  new  force  to  religious  opinions,  when 
we  demonftrafe,  by  various  ways,  that  the  principles 
which  dfiiroy  thole  opinions,  lead  to  a  refult  contrary 
to  our  nature*  1  will  then  conclude  this  chapter  by  a 
reflexion  of  fcrious  importance. 

If  there  be  not  a  God — if  this  world  and  the  whole 
univerfe  were  only  the  production  of  chance  or  nature 
itfelf  fubiiMing  from  all  eternity — and  if  this  naiurcj 
void  of  confcioufnefs,  had  not  any  guide  or  fupenor— 
in  fliorr,  if  ail  its  movemems  were  the  neceflary  effect 
of  a  property  ever  concealed  in  its  eifence — a  terrible 
thought  would  alarm  our  imagination:  we  mould  not 
only  renounce  the  hopes  which  enliven  life  :  we 
fliould  not  only  fee  continually  advancing  towards  us 
the  image  of  death  and  annihilation  ;  thefe  dreadful 
anticipations  would  not  be  ail — an  uncertain  caule  of 
fear  would  trouble  the  mind.  In  fad,  the  revo- 
lutions of  a  biind  nature  being  more  obfcure  than  the 
defignsof  an  Intelligent  Being,  it  would  be  impoflible 
to  difcaver  on  what  bafe,  in  the  univerfe,  repofed  the 
deftiny  of  men  ;  impoflible  to  forefee  whether,  by 
fome  one  of  the  laws  of  that  imperious  nature,  intelli- 
gent beings  are  devoted  to  perifh  irrevocably,  or  revive 
under  fome  other  form  ;  it  they  be  to  Humble  on  new 
pieafures,  or  fuffer  eternally.  Life  and  death,  hap- 
pinefs  and  mifery,  may  belong  indifferently  to  a  na- 
f.ure  whofe  movements  are  not  directed  by  any  intelli- 
gence, are  not  connefted  by  any  moral  idea,  but  fole- 
ly  dependent  on  a  blind  property,  which  is  repreiented 
by  that  terrible  and  inexplicable  word  necejfity.  A 
like  nature  would  refembie  the  rocks  to  which  Pro- 
metheus was  bound,  that  were  equally  inferfible  to  the 
agonizing  groans  of  the  wretch,  and  to  the  joy  of  the 
vultures  who  preyed  on  his  vitals. 

TJbus,  in  a  like  fyftem?  nothing  would  be  able  to  fix 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS*  19* 

cur  opinion  with  refpeft  to  futurity,  and  guard  the  fen* 
fible  part  of  ourfelves  from  yielding  to  fome  unknown 
force:  inihort,  can  we  reply  without  trembling  ?  noth- 
ing— and  of  courfe  eternal  torments  might  accidental- 
ly become  our  portion. 

The  momentary  experfence  of  life  might,  perhaps, 
infpire  us  with  a  kind  of  tranquilitv  :  but  what  is  that 
in  immenfity,  bat  calculations  founded  on  the  obferv- 
ance  of  a  fhort  interval  ?  What  is  that  hope  which  on- 
ly a  fleeting  moment  gives  weight  to?  Ir  is  as  if  the 
fluttering  infeft,  which  lives  but  a  da>,  fhould  confider 
itfelf  as  a  reprefen  ration  of  (he  eternal  condition  of  the 
univerfe.  The  mixture  of  pains  and  pleafures,  10  v.  hich 
men  are  fubject  on  earth,  i*  rot  a  certain  proof  of 
what  may  happen  in  other  tune^  and  places :  for  uni- 
ty, equality,  and  ana'rgy,  all  th<»fc  iources  of  probabil- 
ity and  principle  to  judge  from,  are  connected  with  ge- 
neral ideas  of  order  and  harmony,  but  thole  ideas  are 
not  applicable  to  a  nature  fubjeft  to  neceflity. 

We  have  Tome  difficulty  to  afifure  ourfelves  of  the 
defigns  of  a  Supreme  Being.  However,  by  a  kind  of 
ana'oay.we  (hall  be  able  to  form  an  idea  of  the  divine 
will  :  and  our  minds,  our  feelings,  and  virtues,  all  aid 
us  in  the  fearch.  But  were  we  fprung  from  an  irifen- 
fibie  nature,  we  fliouJd  not  have  any  connexion  with 
the  different  parts  of  its  iinmenle  extent  ;  and  the  at- 
tentive itudy  of  our  moral  conftitution  would  not  throw 
a  light  on  the  various  revolutions  of  which  the  mate- 
rial world  is  fufc--.pt. b!e  We  mould  only  difcover, 
that  there  wouicl  be  much  lefs  reafon  to  oppofe,  in  im- 
agination, limits  to  the  varied  movements  of  a  nature 
without  a  guide,than  tocircumfcribe,infome  manner,  the 
aftions  of  an  Omnipotent  Being,  whofe  other  attributes 
are  allo  infinite;  for  the  ideas  of  order,  juftice,  and 
goodnefs,  which  arifc  from  a  knowledge  of  his  perfec- 
tions, feem  to  trace  a  circle  in  the  midil  of  infinity, 
which  the  mind  of  man  may  perceive.  Yes,  thefe 
ideas  fubjeci  a  great  (pace  to  our  contemplations :  but 
what  advantage  is  there  in  try  ing  to  be  acquainted  with 
the  myil':ries  of  an  infenfibie  nature,  or  to  penetrate  the 
Secret  of  the  motion,  imprefled  b.y  blind  neceflity  ? 


iga         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

Let  me  repeat  it,  then,  as  a  termination  to  thefe  re- 
flexions :  all  would  be  obfcure,  all  mere  chance  in  the 
fate  of  man,  if  we  did  not  attribute  the  diipofition  and 
prefervation  of  (he  world  to  the  omnipotent  will  of  an 
Intelligent  Being,  \vhofe  perfections  our  feelings  and 
thoughts  faintly  reprefent, 

In  (hort,  even  though  in  the  fyftem  of  the  eternity 
df  nature,  men  wereaffured  that  death  deftroys  individ- 
uality, and  were  they  even  able  to  drive  away  th« 
idea  of  the  continuation  or  renewal  of  it,  by  any  fent- 
iment  or  remembrance  ;  would  it  be  evident,  that  we 
fhould  be  abfolutely  indifferent  about  the  torments,  ra- 
tional beings  may  endure  in  that  fpace  which  is  re- 
prefented  by  the  idea  of  infinity  and  eternity  ?  The 
metaphyfical  idea,  which  determines  us  to  place  OUT 
confcioufnefs  on  that  imperceptible  and  myllenous 
point — which  unites  our  prefent  thoughts  to  the  pafr} 
and  our  aftual  ientiments  to  our  hopes  and  fears — thrs 
thought  is  not  ibfficient  to  make  us  regardlefs  of  our 
fate,  or  render  us  indifferent  to  the  unknown  effefts 
which  may  refult  from  the  revolutions  of  a  nature, 
which  we  are  not  acquainted  with."  The  anxieties 
and  troubles  of  the  beings  who  are  to  live  in  the  ages 
yet  unborn,  do  not  interefl  us  as  belonging  to  any  par- 
ticular perfon  ;  however,  we  have,  lor  thofe  abftracl: 
misfortunes,  in  this  inilance,  a  fyropathy  which  efcapes 
reafoning. 

I  agree,  that  in  the  fyflem  of  undirected  nature,  hap- 
pinef's  or  mifery,  tranfifcry  or  \vithout  end,  have  the 
fame  degree  of  probability  :  but  what  a  terrifying  re- 
femblance !  Can  we,  undifmayed,  confider  fuch  a 
chance  ? 

How  happens  it  then,  that  fome  pretend,  that  athe- 
ifm  frees  us  from  every  kind  of  terrcr  about  futuri'.y  ? 
I  cannot  perceive,  that  fuch  a  conclufion  flows  from 
•this  fatal  fyflem.  A  Ge;d,  fuch  as  my  heart  delineates, 
encourages  and  moderates  all  my  feelirgs.  I  fay  to 
myfeiF,  "He  is  good  and  indulgent :  he  knows  our  weak- 
nefs  ;  he  loves  to  produce  happinefs  j  and  I  fee  the  ad- 
vances of  death  without  terrcr,  and  often  with  hope/' 
JKuc  every  fear  would  become  reafooabft,  if  i  lived  un- 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  133 

der  the  dominion  of  an  infenfibie    nature,  \vhofc  laws 
and  revolutions  are  unknown*   1  leek  for  feme  means  to 
cfcape  from  its  power — but  even  death    cannot  afford 
fne  a  retreat,  or    ipace  nn  ai'ylum.      J  rcficfr,  if  it  be 
poflible,  to  find  companion  and  gcodnefs  ;   but  here  h 
iio  prime   intelligence,  no  firil  caufe.  ;    a  blind   nature 
Turrounds  us,   and  governs  imperioufly.     I  in  vain  de- 
mand, what  is  to  be  done  with  me?  It  is  deaf  to  my 
voice.      Devoid  of  will,    thought,    and  feeling,    it  is 
governed    by   an  irrefiftible   force,  whofe   rrotion  is  a 
my  fiery  never  to  be  unfolded.      What  a  view  for  the 
human  mind,   to  anticipate  the  dcflruclion   of  all  our 
primitive  ideas  of  order,  juflice,  and  gocdnefs  !    Shall 
1    further  fay,  even  though,  in  every   fyfiem,   the   en- 
trance of   the  future  were   unknown,  I  fhou'd  be  lefs 
unhappy  and  forlcrn,  if  it   were  to  a  father,  a  bene- 
faclor.  that  I  committed  the  depofit  of  li^e  which  I  held 
from  him.     This  lafl  communication  with   the  Mailer 
of  the  world,  would   mitigate    my  pains ; — my   eyes,* 
Avhen  doling,  would  perceive  his  power;  that  1  fLould 
rsnt  'ofe  all,  I  might  {fill  hope  that  God  rernained  with 
fhofe  I  loved,  and  find    fome  comfort  in   the  thought 
that  my  deftirty  'was  united  to  his  will  ;   that  rry 
ence  2nd  the  employments  I  devoted  myfe'lf  to,  fcrrn- 
cd  one    cf  the    n;t<ehble  points  of  his  eternal  icrnem- 
brance  ;  End  that  the  incomprchenfible  darknefs  I  \vas 
^o;ng  to  plunge  into,    is  equally  a  part  of   his  empire. 
But  when  a  feeling  and  c  cvated  foul,  which  fcmeumes 
enjoys  a  fentlment  of  its  o\vn  grandeur,  fhould  certain- 
ly know,  that,  dragged  "by  a  blind  motion,  it  was  going 
fo  be  diflipated,    to  be   fcailcred  in  that  dreary  wafle, 
where  a!!  that  is  moil  vile  en  earth  is  indifferently   pre- 
cipitated :  fuch  a  thought  would  blight  the   ncb.'efi  ac- 
tions, and  'be  a  continual  fource  of  fadnefs  ard  oefpond- 
cncy.      Save  'tis  from  thele  dreadful  reflcclioiis,  fublime 
and  chcrifhed  belief  of  a  God  !   afford   us  the   courage 
and  comfort  we  need,  and  guard  our  minds  as  from  fa- 
tal phantoms,   from  all   thofe  vain  fuppofitions,   :hofe 
errors  ot  reasoning  and  rnetaph)  tical   lubt!etics,  which 
iincrpofe  between  man  and  his  Creator  !    Ar.d  we  full 
of  confidence  in  the  lirlt  ktfon  of  nature,  will  take  for  a 
guide  that  interior  fentiment,  which  is  not  ihoughr, 
R  bat 


i94         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

but  fomething  more  ;  which  neither  rcafons  nor  con-* 
jeflures ;  but  perhaps  forms  the  clofeft  connexion  and 
moil  certain  communication  with  thofe  grand  truths,; 
which  the  underflanding  alone  can  never  reach. 


C  H  AP  TER    XV. 


On  the  Refpett  that  is  due  to  Religion  from 
true  Philosophy. 


view  of  the  univerfe,  the  reflexions  of  our 
minds,  and  the  inclinations  of  our  hearts,  aii  con- 
cur to  ftrengthen  the  thought,  that  there  exifts  a  God  : 
and  without  power  to  comprehend  this  Infinite  Being, 
to  form  a  juii  idea  of  his  eflence  and  perftclions,  the 
confufed  fentiment  of  his  grandeur,  and  the  continual 
experience  of  their  own  weaknefs,  are  fo  many  imperi- 
ous motives,  which,  in  all  ages  and  countries,  have  im- 
pelled men  to  worfhip  a  God.  Thole  natural  ideas 
nave  acquired  new  force  by  the  light  of  revelation  ;— 
but  it  is  not  in  a  metaphyfical  work,  that  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Chriftian  religion  ought  to  be  difcufled-; 
nor  could  we  add  much  to  the  dotlrines  contained  in 
books  compofed  at  different  periods  on  this  important 
fubjeft.  All  difcuflions,  which  are  allied  to  truths, 
whofe  authenticity  depends  on  fa£ls,  are  necefFarily 
confined  within  certain  bounds :  and  we  are  obliged  to 
purfue  a  beaten  track,  and  run  over  the  fame  circle, 
when  we  enter  on  fuch  a  well-known  fubjefr.  I  fliali 
then  confine  myfelf  to  fome  reflexions,  and  makechoice 
of  thofe  which  are  bed  adapted  to  the. particular  geni- 
us of  theprefent  age,  and  the  modifications  which  our 
fentiments  receive  from  predominant  opinions  ;  for  our 
judgments,  like  our  imprelTions.  vary  with  the  change 
which  happens infenf'bly  in  habits  and  manners.  One 
age  is  that  of  intolerance  and  bigotry  ;  another  of  re- 
laxation and  indifference,  or  a  contempt  of  all  ancient 

cuiloms. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  195 

fruftoms.  Every  century,  every  generation  is  diftin- 
gutfhed  by  a  general  character — a  character  which  we 
take  foaietimes  for  new  ideas  ;  wni.e  it  is  nothing  but 
the  natural  effecl  of  exaggeration  in  our  preceding  opin- 
ions. Men  are  fubjeci  to  moral  laws,  limilar  in  (eve- 
ral  refpecls  to  mechanical  rules :  and  with  all  their 
knowledge  and  pride,  they  remind  us  of  thofe  chi  dren, 
who,  placed  at  the  extremity  of  a  long  balance,  rife 
and  fail  fucceflively.  They  can  only  be  fixed  by 
moderate  fentiments,  which  are  fuftained  by  their  own 
fcrce  ;  any  other  has  a  borrowed  action,  and  this  action 
is  never  in  perfect  equilibrium  with  truth. 

1 1  is  in  the  nature  of  revelation,  to  appear  lefs  evi- 
dent to  the  rmnd,  in  proportion  as  the  proofs  of  its  au- 
thenticity are  dirtant  :  and  if,  among  the  dogmas  united 
loa  religious  doctrine,  fame  one  contain  a-myllic  fenfe 
—if  among  the  forms  of  worfhip  adopted,  fome  one  be 
not  confonant  with  the  fimple  and  rnajefiic  idea  which 
we  ought  to  have  of  the  Mailer  of  the  world — it  would 
not  be  extraordinary  that  this  religious  inftitution,  con- 
fidered  in  its  different  parts,  fheuid  give  birth  to  con- 
troverfies  ;  and  we  fhould  not  be  exafperated  againft 
thofe,  who,  after  having  faithfully  examined,  flill  have 
fome  doubts.  It  is  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  our 
underfhnding,  that  God  'has  thought  fit  to  manifci! 
himfelf  to  us  ;  thus,  the  exertion  of  thofe  faculties  of 
the  mind  cannot  be  difpleafing  to  him.  But  reafon, 
left  to  itfelf,  and  even  when  improved  by  philofophy, 
fhould,  by  no  means,  lead  men  to  any  kind  of  con- 
tempt for  religious  wcrfhip  in  general,  or  any  of  the 
particular  opinions,  of  which  Chriftianity  is  the  fup- 
port.  Any  doctrine,  which  leads  to  the  adoration  of 
tbe  God  of  the  univerfe,  is  worthy  of  the  refpecl  of 
his  creatures.  Thus,  perfons  moll  difpofed  to  conteft 
the  authenticity  of  the  facred  books,  ought  ftill  to  love 
precepts  which  feern  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  human 
mind,  in  order  to  aflift  men  in  the  laft  efforts  which 
they'make  to  know  more  of  God  ;  as  the  friendly 
bark,  offered  to  the  forlorn  wretch  ftruggling  on  the 
furface  of  the  immenfe  wafle  of  waters,  on  which  his 
^eeble  hands  have  vainly  endeavoured  to  fupport  him. 

We  cannot  but  have  discovered,  that  the  Sentiments 

cf 


t05          GF^THE  IMPORTANCE  OF       - 

ef  gratitude  and  refpeft  which  infpire  men,  the  mof? 
capable  of  reflexion,  with  the  idea  of  a  God,  are  inti- 
mately conn*tled  with  the  Chriftian  doftrines,  fuch  as 
*ve  find  them  in  the  New  Teftament  :  and  in  thofe  mo- 
JDent?,  when,  with  the  defire  ofhappinefs,  and  the 
timidity  which  belongs  to  our  nature,  we  feek  to  unite 
our  iittlenefs  ro  fupreme  grandeur,  and  our  extreme 
wsaknefs  to  Otnmpqterice,  the  divine  perfections, 
which  the  gofpel  delineates,  encourage  our  iiopes  and 
diHipate  our  fears.  Religion  fhows  us  all  that  we 
have  need  of  in  our  imferabie  condition — -a  fovereigc 
goodnefs,  an  inexhauftibie  companion  ;  thus,  then,  the 
iaft  link  of  the  Chriftian  faith,  like  the  termination  af 
the  deepeft  meditations,  reaches  the  fame  conclufioa  ; 
and  religion  agrees  with  philofophy,  in  the  moment 
when  it  is  moil  elevated. 

However,  the  Chriflian  and  the  Deift  unite,  in  fome 
manner,  in  the  ultimate  tendency  of  their  thoughts.-— 
They  meet,  when"  they  throw  their  attention  on  civil 
fociety,  and  when  they  feek  to  determine  the  duties  of 
snen  ;  for  a  wife  man  mull  ever  pay  homage  to  the 
morality  of  the  gofpel,  and  the  pholofopher  couid  not 
have  imagined  a  more  reafonable  fyftem,  or  one  more 
comformable  to  our  fuuation.*  If  it  be  then  true, 
that  opinions,  in  appearance  oppofite,  approach  ai 
their  extremities — and  if  it  be  true,  that  the  adoration 
of  a  Qod  and  refpctt  for  morality,  form,  by  uniting, 
she  circle  of  evangelical  doctrines— -it  very  little  conr 
terns'  the  reafonable  philofopher,  that  the  chriitian 
faith  is  placed  between  thcfe  two  grand  ideas,  if  he 
think  he  can  himfelfexplore  the  fpace  which  feparates 
man  from  his  Creator,  for  what  reafon  would  he  con- 
demn with  bitternefs  the  femiments  of  thofe  who  arc 
attached  to  the  comfortable  fyftem  of  intcrceffion  and 
redemption,  of  which  Chriftianity  has  laid  the  founda- 
tion ?* 

In  fhort,  were  they  even  not  to  a^ree  in  every  opin- 
ion with  the  interpreters  of  the  Chriftian  doftrine, 
this  would  Dot  be  a  fufficient  reafon  for  breaking  the 

religious 

*  I  (hall  offer  fome  reflexion*  on  this  truth  ia 


RELIGIOUS 

religious  alliance  which  ought  to  fubftft  among  men  ;• 
an  alliance  reprefented  and  rendered  authentic,  in  eve- 
ry nation,  by  the  pub'ic  worfhip  which  ha?  been  made 
choice  of  by  the  government.  What  idea,  then, 
IHould  we  have  of  the  genius  or  the  abilities  of  a  phi- 
lofopher,  who,  at  the  tight  of  the  ceremonies  of  the 
public  worfhip,  which  difguft  him,  could  not  rife 
above  them,  fo  as  to  confkler  them,  in  fome  meafure, 
as  the.  atmofphere  of  religious  opinions,  which,  turn- 
ing his  attention  from  the  importance  of  thofe  opin- 
ions, could  not  preferve,  at  leaft,  fome  refpeft  for  all 
the  dependencies  of  th-e  moft' fublinrie  and  falwary 
thought  ?  It  is  eafy  however,  to  perceive,  that,  for  the 
generality  of  men,  the  duties  of  morality,  religion,  and 
al!  the  exterior  homage  rendered  to  the  Deity,  corn- 
pofe  a  whole  fo  clofely  connected,  that  the  bafis  is  in 
danger  when  the  outworks  are  attacked.  The  imagi- 
nation of  the  vulgar  cannot  be  guided  in  the  lame  man  - 
ner  as  that  of  the  folitary  thinker  :  and  it  would  bo 
committing  a  great  error,  to  try  to  influence  the  opin- 
ions of  the  generality  by  the  fame  con  fi  derations 
which  are  fufficient  for  the  man  who  profoundly  re- 
flecls  :  there  is  a  fyttern  proportionate  to  the  different 
faculties  of  intelligent  beings,  as  there  is  one  applicable 
to  the  varied  forces  of  thair  phyfical  nature, 

i  know  nothing  more  dangerous  than  the  inconfid- 
trate  cenfures  of  thofe  religious  ceremonies  received 
and  refpefted  in  the  country  we  live  in  :  fome  do  not 
think  that  they  are  acting  wrong,  when  they  fpeak, 
Hightingly  of  the  various  fymbois  of  public  worfhip  ; 
yet,  if  they  attentively  obferved  the  kind  of  minds, 
and  the  firft  habits  of  the  greater  part  of  thofe  to  whom 
they  addrefs  fuch  difcourfes,  they  would  know  hov/ 
eafy  to  wound  them  in  the  fentiment  which  is  the 
iburee  of  all  their  trancuility,  and  thefofeguard  of  their 
moral  conduct.  The  deliverer  of  Switzerland  (truck 
off  with  one  of  his  arrows  an  appie  placed  on  the  head 
of  his  only  fon  ;  but  every  one  cannot  expect  to  be  fo 
fortunate. 

Some  would  contradiQ  thefe   affertions,  by  faying 

that  celebrated  men  have  occafioned    rapid  changes  i,i 

ihs  church  of  Rome  without  weakening  religion.  The 

K.  a  origin. 


ic>8         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE   OF 

origin,  the  circumftances,  arid  the  rcfulf  of  a  revolution 
fo  marked  in  hiflory,  has  not  any  connexion  with  th-j 
prefent  tjueftion.  The  reformers  of  the  (ixteenth  cen- 
tury, preaching  a  ntw  doclrine,  openly  profefled  relig* 
ious  zeal  and  a  fervent  piety  :  thus,  at  the  fame  time 
that  they  difapproved  of  a  part  of  the  eftablifhed  wor- 
fhip,  they  more  rigidly  recommended  all  the  funda- 
mental opinions  of  chriUianity,  and  fought  to  introduce 
a  feverity  of  manners,  which  even  extended  to  ths 
profcription  of  feveral  indulgences  that  had  not  been 
oefore  condemned  :  and,  in  facl,  if  the  new  dotlrines 
had  BO!  been  united  to  the  greateft  refpeft  for  the  eft 
fentia!  principles  of  the  Chriflian  religion,  they  never 
would  have  hjd  fo  many  followers, 

They  cannot,  then,  eftabiifh  any  kind  of  compan- 
ion between  the  cenfures  poured  forth  by  the  reform- 
ers, and  the  ridicule  or  contempt  of  thofe  who  now 
infult  our  moil  refpcctable  opinions,  Thofe  men, 
v/ho  at  prefent  abound,  are  fomctimes  excited  by  a. 
libertiniim  of  mind  and  conducl,  by  {eif-love,  or  the 
enthufiafm  of  f,il(e  philofophy  ;  and  iome  of  them  are 
Jed'iciJ  by  an  air  of  fuperionty,  attached  to  the  prin- 
ciples which  they  themfelves  inilitute.  1'here  is  ». 
great  difference  between  the  grave  and  ferious  courie 
of  the  reformers,  and  the  various  evolutions  of  the  ac- 
live  opponents  of  religion.  The  latter  do  not  take 
care  to  {top  at  clearing  up  a  point  of  doctrine,  or  a  dif- 
puted  interpretation  of  force  dogma.  It  is  religion 
iifelf  that  they  wifh  to  attack  :  and  if  thsy  bs-gin  with 
the  outworks,  it  is  in  order  to  undermine  it.  They- 
fake  fkilfully  their  pot%  and  know  when  to  have  re- 
courfe  to  a  tone  of  p!eafantry  ;  which  is  very  danger- 
ous, as  it  gives  an  air  of  confidence  to  thofe  who  cm~ 
pby  it,  and  they  obtain  a  kind  of  afcendency  in  avoids 
nig  every  idea  of  an  equal  combat.  One  is  cufpofed 
?o  think,  that  it  is  by  difdain  that  thay  glance  ilightiy. 
over  the  fubjetl.  We  fubmit  in  a  cowardly  mar>ner?. 
,o  the  appearance  of  their  fuperiority  :  and  that,  wbick, 
is  in  them  weaknefs  or  impotence,  gives  confequence.. 

Mea,  in  order  to  exprefs  their  gratitude  to  the  fov- 
creign  Mafter  of  the  world,  mud  borrow  from  their 
ifna^i nations  every  thing  grand  and  majdlic  :  thus, 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  19$ 

when  they  detacft  from  thofe  reverential  figns  the  ideas 
that  they  repreferued  and  preferve,  they  only  difpla/ 
a  vain  gravity,  a  chimerical  pomp  :  and  it  is  eafy  to 
make  a  fimilar  contrail  a  fubjecl  of  ridicule  ;  but  in 
a£ling  thus,  far  from  making  us  applaud  their  talents, 
they'infult,  without  any  fenfe,  the  habit  mofl  men  have 
acquired,  of  venerating,  on  the  whole,  every  iyflern  of 
•worfhip  paid  the  Supreme  Being. 

Nevertheless,  the  bold  and  frivolous  difcourfes  which 
are  permitted  againll  religion  in  general,  have  made 
fuch  progrefs,  that  i.t  p  relent  the  perfons  who  molt  ref- 
peft  thefe  opinions,  without  ofientation  or  feverity, 
find  themfelves  obliged  to  conceal  or  moderate  their 
fentiments,  left  they  iliould  be  expofed:  to- a  kind  of 
contemptuous  pity,  or  run  the  rifk  of  being  fufpefted 
of  hypocrify.  We  are  at  liberty  to  fpeak  on  every 
iubjecr,  except  the  mod  grand  and  intsrefting  which 
can  occupy  men.  What  llrangc  authority,  gave  rife  to 
this  imperious  legiflation,  which  is  termed  falhionable  ? 
What  a  miferable  confpiracy,  that  of  weaknefs  againii 
Omnipotence  !  Men  are  proud  cf  knowing  at  what 
hour  the  king  wakes,  goes  to  the  chace,  or  returns  ; 
they  are  very  eager  to  be  informed  of  the  vile  intrigues, 
which  fuccellively  debafe  or  exalt  his  courtiers  :  they 
pafs,  in  fliort,  their  whole  lives,  in  panting  after  ob- 
jecis  of  vanity  and  badges  of  flavcry  :  they  are  contin- 
ualiy  brought  into  converfaticri :  and  they  profcrib?, 
under  the  dreadful  name  of  vulgarity,  the  moft  remote 
cxprefliorr,  which  would  reca!  the  idea  of  the  harmo- 
nious univcrfe,  and  the  Being  who  has  beOowed  on  us 
all  the  gifts  of  the  mind.  VV  hat  is  the  moft  excellent 
in  our  nature  we  overlook,  to  -dwell  only  on  the  in- 
flations of  vanity.  Ungrateful  that  we  are  !  Our  in- 
telligence, our  will,  all  our  fenfes,  are  the  feal  of  an 
unknown  power :  and  is  it  thanarre  of  our  Mafterand 
Benefacicr  that  we  dare  not  pronounce?  It  is  from 
your  modern  philofophers,  that  this  falfe  ihame  arifes  ;. 
you,  who  fpread  derilion  over  the  moil  refpettable 
{bnttments,  and  employing  in  the  difpute  the  irivolous 
fljafts  of  ridicule,  have  given  corfidencc  to  the  moll 
iiiHgnificarit  of  men — you  have,  for  your  followers,  a 
numerous  race,;which.is  taJien  promifcuoufly  from  ev- 
ery rauk  and  age. 


OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

We  now  reckon,  among  thofe  who  oppofe  a  cor 
temptuous  fmile  to  religious  opinions,  a  multitude  of 
young  people,  often  incapable  of  fupporting  the  mofl 
trivial  arguments,  and  who,  perhaps,  could  not  conneft 
two  or  three  abflraft  propofitions.  Thefe  pretended 
philosophers  artfully,  and  almoft  perfidioufly,  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  firft  flight  of  felf-love,  to  perfuade  be- 
ginners, that  they  are  able  to  judge  at  a  glance,  of  the 
ferious  queftions  which  have  eluded  the  penetration  of 
the  moft  exercifed  thinkers.  In  fhort,  fuch  is,  in  ge- 
neral, the  decifive  tone  of  the  irreligious  men  of  our 
age,  that,  in  hearing  them  fo  boldly  murmur  about  the 
diforders  of  the  univerfe,  and  the  mittakes  of  Provi- 
dence, we  are  only  furprifed  to  fee  how  much  they 
differ  in  ftature  from  thofe  rebeliious'giants  mentioned 
in  the  heathen  mythology. 

I  believe,  however,  that  if  contempt  for  religious 
opinions  did  not  produce  a  linking  contraft,  thofe,  whc 
profefs  to  feel  this  contempt,  would  quickly  adopt  oth- 
er fentiments.  They  only  fuperficially  attend  to  the 
pernicious  tendency  of  their  maxims,  while  they  be- 
lieve themfeives  ftill  in  the  oppofition  :  but  if  they  ev- 
er obtained  a  majority,  not  having  then  (he  fpur  of  felf- 
Jove,  they  would  foon  difcever  the  abfurdity  of  theh 
principles,  and  haftily  throw  them  afide. 

There  are,  undoubtedly,  a  great  number  of  eflimable 
perfons,  who  highly  value  the  truths  and  precepts  of 
religion,  yet  are  a  prey  to  doubt  and  uncertainty,  and 
who  become  the  firft  victims  of  the  inconfiflencies  of 
their  minds.  But  men  of  fuch : a  character  do  not  aim 
at  dominion  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  rather  wifh  to  be 
confirmed  by  the  example  of  thofe  whofe  conBdence 
is  more  afTured.  They  would- confider  with  interefl 
the  fentimenis  that  unfortunately  have  made  too  flight 
an  impreilion  on  them  :  and  they  would-  endeavour  to 
flrengthen  their  weak  hopes,  till  they  reached  the  cour- 
ageous perfuafion  which  infpires  the  Chfifiian  :  yes, 
even  the  enthufiafm  of  piety  excites  their  envy  ;  as  it 
is  more  delightful  to  yield  to  the  emotions  of  a  lively 
imagination,  than  to  iiruggle  with  apathy  againft  the 
opinions  calculated  to  diiiufe  happmefs,  VI'hus,  if 
nsnong  the  number  of  perform -that  i  have  juft  deline- 
ated; 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  20* 

srted,  there  were  fome,  to  whom  nature  had  granted 
fuperior  talents,  wit,  or  eloauence,  they  would  care-- 
fully avoid  exening  them  todifturb  the  repofe  of  thofe 
peaceable  fouls,  who  calmly  rely  on  religion,  and  re- 
ceive all  their  confolation  from  that  fource.  A  wife 
man  never  permits  himfeif  to  fpread-  fadnefs  and  dif- 
couragement,  in  order  to  gratify  the  ridiculous  vanity 
of  exalting  himfeif  a  little  above  common  opinion?:, 
or  to  fliow  his  abilities,  by  making  fome  ingenious 
diftinftions  concerning  particular  parts  of  the  eflab- 
li.'hed  religion  ;  in  the  fame  manner,  as  it  would  be 
the  height  of  folly  to  flop  an  army  during  its  march, 
to  dtfcrirninate  fyfrematically  the  perfect  juflnefs  of 
the  different  tones  of  the  warlike  inllruments  of  mu- 
fic.  The  bold  and  frivolous  opinions  of  feveral  phi- 
lofophers,  have  appeared  to  me  to  be  weak,  where 
they  rrjofi  wifh  to  rile  ;  I  mean  in  the  extent  and  loft* 
incfs  of  their  views. 

I  need  not  fpeak  to  thofe  who  deny  even  the  exift- 
er.ce  ofa  God.  Alas  !  if  they  be  fo  unhappy  as  to 
{hut  their  eyes,  and  not  to  admit  this  refplendent  light 
-~-if  they  have  a  foul  fo  infenfible,  as  not  to  be  affecU 
td  with  the  comfortable  truths  which  flow  from  fuch 
a  noble  thought — if  they  are  become  deaf  to  the  inter- 
tiling  voice  of  nature — if  they  truft  more  to  their  weak 
reafoning,  than  the  warnings  of  confcience  and  fenfu- 
bi'ity — at  leaft,  let  them  not  fpread  their  difaftrous 
doclrine,  which,,  like  the  head  ot  Medufa.  wouldtranf- 
form  every  thing  into  ftonc. — Let  them  remove  from 
Us  that  frightful  monfter,  or  let  his  hoarfe  hiffing  be 
only  heard  in  the  dreary  iblitude,  of  which  their  heart 
prefents  the  idea.  Let  them  fpare  the  human  race, 
and  have  pity  on  the  ditlrefs,  into  which  they  would 
be  plunged,  if  the  mild  light,  which  ferv-es  to  guide 
them,  were  ever  to  be  obfcured.  In  fhort,  if  they 
really  believe  that  morality  can  agree  with  atheifm, 
let  them  g.ive  the  Hrft  proof  of  it,  by  remaining  filent, 
But  if  they,  cannot  abdain  from  publifiiing  their  opin- 
ions, let  a  remnant  of gerierofity  induce  them  to  inform 
us  of  their  dangerous  tendency,  by  placing  in  the  fron- 
tifpiece  of  their  works,  this  terrible  infcription  of 
Dante's  i—Lafciat*  o^nifpcranza^voich'  (titrate* 

CHAPTER 


ao2        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE   OF 

CHAPTER     XVI. 


The  Jams  fubjeft    continued.     Rtfi?xions  on 
Intolerance. 

THE   furface   of   the  earth  reprefents  to  us  about 
the  two  hundred  and  fortieth  part  of  ihe  fuper- 
ficies   of  the    different   opaque  bodies  which   revolve 
round  the  fan. 

The  fixed  flan  are  fo  many  fj»i3,  which,  according 
to  all  appearance,  ferve  equally  to  enlighten  a-aj  ferti- 
lize plants  (imilar  to  thofe  w«  are  acquainted  with. 

A  famous  aftronomer*  has  'lately  difcoverecl  fifty 
thoufand  new  ftars  in  a  zone  fifteen  degrees  in  length 
and  two  in  breadth,  a  fpace  which  correfponds  with 
the  thirteen  hundred  ana  :fixty- fourth  part  of  the  ce« 
leftial  fphere, 

Suppofing,  then,  that  we  perceive  an  equal  number 
of  flars  in  every  other  parallel  "feftion  of  the  firmament, 
the  quantity  we  fhould  be  acquainted  with)  would 
rife  to  near  fixty-nine  millions. 

And  if  each  of  thefe  ftars  were  the  centre  of  a  plan- 
etary fyllem,  refemblmg  the  one  we  inhabit,  we  fhould 
have  an  idea  of  the  exiftence  of  a  number  of  habitable 
globes,  whofe  extent  would  be  fixteen  or  feventeen 
millions  of  times  mere  confiderable  than  the  furface  of 
the  earth,  i 

How 

*     Dr.  Herfchell. 

f  It  may  be  faid,  that  the  fifty  thouftnd  new  ftars  perceiv- 
«d  by  Dr.  Herfchell,  being  the  rcfult  of  obfervations  dire&ed 
to  the  milky-way,  we  are  not  to  expeft  to  difcover  as  great 
a. number  in  oth.r  parts  of  the  heavens  of  a  like  extent.  But, 
independent  of  thele  ftars,  which  Dr.  Herfchell  clearly  dif- 
tinguifhed,  he  imagine*]  that  there  were  twice  as  many  more 
of  which  he  imagined  he  had  only  an  inftantaneous  glance. 
See  the  philofophical  tranfadtions  of  the  royal  fociety,  1774. 
Dr.  H,  has  probably,  (tnce  that  time,  made  new  difcoveries  j 
but  they  have  not  reached  ms.  I  find,  in  the  tranfadions  of 
the  royal  fociety,  of  which  he  is  a  me.nber,  that  he  confide?* 
the  new  telcfcope  as  being  ftill  "  in  its  infancy." 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS. 

fufceptible  fioever,  the  ingenious  invention^ 
which  aflifls  us  to  explore  the  vaulted  firmament,  is 
of  new  improvement— and  even  at  the  period,  when 
it  may  arme  at  the  greateft  perfe&ior, —  the  fpace# 
which  our  ailronomic  knowledge  may  hare  taken  pof- 
fcffion  of,  will  only  be  a  point  in  the  vaft  extent  which 
•cur  imagination  can  conceive. 

This  imagination  itfelf.  like  all  our  intellectual  fao 
uhies,  is  perhaps  only  a  fimple  degree  of  infinite  pow- 
ers ;  aridahe  images  that  it  prefents,  are  but  an  imper- 
fcft  fketch  of  univerfal  exiilence. 

What  then  becomes  of  our  earth  in  thewidil  of  that 
immenfity  which  the  human  mind  vainly  tries  tografp? 
What  is  it,  even  now,  compared  with  that  number  of 
terreftrial  bodies  we  can  calculate  or  fuppofe  ? 

Is  it  then  the  inhabitants  of  this  grain  of  fand,  is 
it  only  a  few  of  them,  tha*  have  diicovered  the  true 
mode  of  worihipping  <the  Creator  of  ib  many  wonders  ? 
Their  dwelling  is  a  point  in  infinite  Ipace  :  the  life, 
which  they  enjoy,  is  but  cue  of  the  moments  which 
compofe  eternity  ;  they  pafs- *way,  like  a  flafli  of 
lightning,  in  that  courfe  cf  ages,  in  which  generations 
after  generations  are  Io9.  How  then  dare  any  of 
them  announce  to  the  prefcnt  age,  and  to  thofe  to 
come,  that  men  cannot  el'cape  the  vengeance  of  Heav- 
en, if  they  alter  one  tittle  of  the  ritual  ?  What  an 
idea  they  give  of  the  relation  eUabliflied  between  thnc 
God  of  the  univer.fe.and  the  atoms  difperfed  through- 
out nature  ?  Let  them  then  raifeone  cf  the  extremi- 
ties of  that  veil  which  covers  fo  many  myfteries — let 
them  confider  a  moment  the  wonders  on  every  fide, 
the  flarry  firmament,  and  the  inconceivably  dreary 
immenfity  which  their  imagination  cannot  embrace—- 
and let  them  judge,  if  it  be  by  the  exterior  form  of 
their  adoration,  the  v'Jtin  pon;p  of  their  ceremonies, 
that  this  Omnipotent  God  can  diUinguifh  their  hom- 
age. Is  it  then,  by  the  pride  of  our  opinions,  that 
we  think  to  reach  the  Supreme  Being  ?  It  is  mere 
comfortable,  more  reafonable  to  believe,  that  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  have  accels  to  his  throne,  and 
that  we  are  permitted  to  raife  ourlelves  to  it  by  a  pro- 
found femimeni  of  love  and  grauiucle,  as  the  melt  fure 
and  intimate  .relation  between  man  and  his  Creator. 


OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

Undoubtedly,  it  is  neceflary   (hat   public   worfiiip 
fhouid 'be  conflantly  regulated,  and   that  dillinft  fym- 
bols   Should    be  refpecled,    whofe    eflential   character 
ought  not  to  vary,   that  the  fentiments  of  the  generali- 
ty fo  promptly  affefted  by  exterior  objecls,  may  not  be 
expofed  to  any  alteration.      It  is  neceflary,  that  weak 
minds  eafily  find  their  way,  and  that  they  be  not  cm- 
barraifed  with  doubt    and  uncertainty.      £n  (hort,  it  ra 
to  be  defired,  that  the  citizens,  united  by  the  lame  laws 
and  political   iriterefts,  fhouid  be  fo  by  the  fame  wor- 
/hip,  in  order  that  the   facred  band   of  religion   may 
take  them    ail  in  ;  and   that   principles   of  education 
fhouid  be  maintained  and  fortified  by  example.     But 
as  morality  is  the  firft  law  of  princes,  and  that  always 
clear  and   dirtincl  in    its   motives    and   inftruclions,  it 
ought  to  precede  the  uncertain   combinations  of  the 
politician.     A  government  is  never  permitted    to  aim 
at  any  end  by  unjuft  means,  let  it  be  ever  fo  defirable : 
ind  1  believe  that  this  rule  is  equally  adapted  to  the  opin- 
ions of  men  and   their  rights.      It  would  be  poflible  to 
conceive  a  lyflem  of  diflribution,    with  refpeft  to  ths 
fortunes  of  men,  more  convenient  than  any   other  for 
the  increafe  of  public  wealth    and    the  power  of  the 
ftate  :  but  though  this  knowledge  mould  influence  the 
general  conduct   of  government,    it  receives  no   right 
from  its  difcernment,  to  arrange,  according  to  his  will, 
the  fituation  of  every    citizen.     The   fame    principle 
has  greater  force  applied  to  opinions  :  it  is  reafonable 
to  feek.  to  diretl  their  courfe  by  flow  and  mild  means  ; 
but  the  fyllem  of  unity,  which  is  certainly   molt  con- 
ducive to  the  happinefs  of  a  (late,  would  ceafe   to  be 
good,  if,  in  order  to  eilaTjiifh   that  fyliem,  violence,  or 
merely  conftraint,    weie   had  recourfe  to  :   liberty  of 
thought  is  the  firft  of  rights,  and  the  moft    refpe£table 
dominion  is  that  of  confcience. 

Some  now  talk  of  the  union  of  civil  tolerance  and 
religious  intolerance.  The  one  protecls  Proteflants 
in  Catholic  'countries,  and  Catholics  in  Proteilant 
countries  .;  and  the  other  would  forbid  every  kind  'of 
ivorfii  p  which  is  nrt  conformable  to  the  inflitutions 
of  the  predominant  religion.  But  upon  this  plan,  if 

the 


V  RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  205 

*he  number  of  DifTenters  were,to  become  confiderable, 
an  important   part    of  the  nation    would    be   without 
wordiip  :   and  the   government    fliculd  not  appear  in- 
different to    this  ;   fince  it   is  of   great  importance  to 
mankind, to  maintain  carefully  every  iupport  of  morality. 
There  is  nothing   more  to  be   faid   on   intolerance, 
when  we  confider  it  in  hs  excefs.     We  all  now  know 
.what  we  ought  to  think  of  the  feverities   and  perfccu- 
lions  which    hifiory    has   trarifmitted    an  account    of: 
and    we  know  the  opinion  we   fliould  form   of  many 
•  a£ls  of  intolerance  and  inhumanity   which  fomc   have 
for  a  long   time  gloried   in  :  and  we   cannot   ilifle  our 
indignation  at    the    fight  of  the   faggots  that  are   dill 
lighted  round  thofe  unhappy  wretches    fcattered  over 
the  face  of   the  earth,  of  whom    Jefus  Chriil    himfeif 
faid,  with  fo  much  goodnefs,  in  the  midft  of  his  a^o- 
'  nies  :  (i Father^  forgive   them,   for  they  know   not 
what  they  do<"     It  is  time  to   aboiifh,  forever,  thole 
dreadful  cufloms,  ignominious  remembrance  of  our  an- 
cient phrenfies  !    O  God,  are  thefe  thy  creatures,  that 
they  dare  to  torment  in    thy  name  !    Is  it  the  v.<ork   of 
thy  hand,  that  they  facrifice  to  thy  g'ory  ? — Petty  ty- 
rants I   ferocious  inquifitors  !    do  you  .expect  fo  obtam 
the  favour  of  heaven,  with  a  heart  hardened,  after  mu- 
tilating the  members  and  tearing  the  bofoms,  of  thofe 
whom  you  can  only  draw    to  you  by   a    fentiment  of 
jjity — \vhofe  emotions   you  are  not    acquainted  with  ? 
The  God  of  Goodnefs  reje£.s  fuch  offerings — He  can- 
not away    wit-h  them.— W-ho    then  wiii°pardon    er- 
rors, if  not   men,    who  are    cotinually    deceived  ?-— 
Alas!  if  exaftnefs  of  judgment,   or.  the  perfection  of 
reafon,  were  the  only  title  to  divine  benevolence,  there 
is  not  any  one  who  might  not  caft  down  his  eyes,  de- 
void of  all  hope. 

Thofe,  who  proudly  flatter  themfelves,  (hat  they 
alone  know  the  worfhip  agreeable  to  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing lofe  all  their  claim  to  our  confidence,  when,  guided 
by  a  fpirit  of  intolerance,  [.hey  depart  fo  vifibly  from 
ihe  character  which  ought  to  infpire  the  idea  of  a 
•God,  protector  of  human  weaknefs.  But  the  abfurd 
attempt,  to  infpire  faith  by  afis  of  rigour  and  feveritv, 
has  been  fo  oft-n  and  lo  ably  combated,  that  I  fhali 
r\ut .dwell  on  a  principle,  the  truth  of  which  common 


OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

fenfe  will  difcover.  I  {hall  only  make  one  obfervatior^ 
iufficient  to  intimidate  the  confidence  of  inquifitors, 
and  all  thole  who  adopt  their  maxims.  The  opera- 
tions of  the  mind  can  only  be  influenced  by  reafoning  : 
all  the  defigns  formed  to  attain  this  end  by  violence, 
are  attempts  to  fubven  the  belief,  of  the  fpirituality  of 
the  foul,  and  indirect  adociations  xvith  inaterialifls ;  for 
\ve  mull  believe  in  the  identity  of  matter  and  thought, 
to  have  a  right  of  pre fuming,  that  the  empire  exercifed 
on  us  by  rigourous  treatment,  can  have  an  influence  on 
our  opinions :  and  then  we  muft  confider  man  as  z 
being  governed  by  mechanical  laws,  to  be  able  to  im- 
agine, that  with  inflrurnents  of  torture  we  can  excite 
a  fenfation,  which,  by  an  unknown  conduit,  might  a£ 
inftead  of  judgment  and  the  feritiment  of  perfuafion. 

It  is  becaufe  the  indignant  emotions  of  a  worthy 
heart  are  more  powerful  than  the  cool  arguments  of 
offended  reafon,  that  we  rife  "with  warmth  againft  in- 
tolerance ;  for  without  this  motive,  it  would  only  de- 
ferve  our  contempt,  as  indicating  a  firigtilar  littlenefs 
of  foul.  Who  can  remember  without  pity,  thofe  dif- 
fenfions  fo  long  maintained,  in  which  men,  both  weak 
and  blind,  united  in  the  name  of  devotion,  aftuated  by 
felf-love,  unintelligible  decrees,  to  fome  important  con- 
troverfy  ?  All  thefe  difputes  appear  foolifh  when  we 
coolly  examine  them  :  and  we  have  cnly  to  confider, 
abliracledly,  thofe  quarrels,  to  difcover  all  their  ab- 

But  as  it  is  only  by  fpreading  knowledge  and  diffuf- 
ing  wholefome  precepts,  that  we  can  hope  to  cure  en- 
thufiafm  and  intolerance,  we  ought  to  be  on  our  guard 
againft  the  dangerous  fpirit  of  indifference  ;  otherwife 
one  evil  will  be  removed  only  to  introduce  another 
equally  fatal  ;  when,  trying  to  divert  men  from  fanat- 
ic cifm,"  we  deitroy  the  ideas  which  fervcd  as  a  founda- 
tion for  religion.  There  could  not  f-ibfiil  any  found 
opinion  or  eflimable  principle,  if  the  different  errors, 
\vhich  creep  round  them,  werejorn  away  by  an  auk- 
\vard  or  violent  hand  ;  and  if  the  evil,  which  contin- 
ually mixes  with  the  good,  became  the  {abject  of  blind 
proscription. 

Let  us  loudly  acknowledge  the  benefits  \\hidiwe 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  207 

h'ave  received  from  diflinguiflied  writers,  who  have 
defended  with  zeal  and  energy  the  caufe  of  tole- 
ration.  It  is  an  obligation,  added  to  many  other*, 
which  it  is  juft  to  acknowledge,  that  we  have  received 
from  genius  and  talents  united.  But  permit  us  alfo  to 
obferve,  that  feveral  of  thofe  writers  have  loft  a  part 
of  the  applaufe  due  to  them,  by  feeking  to  deprefs  re- 
ligion, in  orde*  to  fucceed  in  their  attempt.  Such  a 
proceeding  was  ufywcrthy  of  enlightened  philofophers, 
who,  more  than  others,  ought  to  aflign  limits  to  reafon, 
and  never  defpair  of  its  influence.  What  fbouid  we 
think,  if,  among  thofe  who  juftly  attack  the<  tyranny 
exercifed  over  conference,  there  were  fome  intolerant 
in  the  defence  of  toleration — and  if  we  had  reaicn  to 
reproach  them  with  dcfpifing,  and  fomerimes  hating, 
thofe  who  do  not  concur  with  them — and  by  an  in- 
confiderate  imputation  of  pufiilanimity  or  hypocrify, 
make  the  characters  and  intentions  of  thofe,  who  da 
not  adopt:  their  fentimentv  appear  fufpicious  ?  What 
a  flrange  inconfiftency,  in^a  different  way,  do  they 
not  exhibit  !  forgetting,  fcmetirnes,  their  own  opin- 
ions, and  contradicting,  without  thinking,  their  ac- 
knowledged incredulity,  they  raife  a  clamour  about  the 
miferies  to  which  mankind  are  fubjeft,  and  difplay  the 
pretended  diforders  of  the  univeri'e,  in  order,  after- 
wards, to  throw  an  odium  on  the  God  whofe  exigence 
they  conteft,  to  ridicule  a  Providence  they  do  not  re- 
ly on  !  One  would  think,  that  after  having  overturned 
the  empire  of  the  Deity,  in  order  to  remain  the  only 
legiflators  of  the  world  ;  they  regretted  not  having 
any  longer  a  rival,  and  wifhed  to  rebuild  the  temple 
they  have  dertroyed,to  have  again  a  vain  idol  to  iniult, 
Another  inconfiltency  appears  in  their  aiperity  againii 
thofe  who  refill  their  dogmas,  while,  in  the  fyftem  of 
fate,  reafon  does  not  preierve  its  empire,  and  the  maf- 
ter,  as  well  as  the  drfcipline,  are  equally  fubjecl  to  the 
laws  of  neceflity* 

To  exercife  an  authority  over  the  mind  by  the  pow- 
er of  eloquence  is  a  great  advantage  ;  for  fuch  an  au- 
thority is  not  confined  to  any  place  or  time.  But  to 
have  a  right  to  fuch  an  extennve  reign,  we  muft  re- 
Bounce  fafbionable  opinions,  the  councils  of  vanity 

and 


so8          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

and  the  inftigalions  of  felf-love  ;   and  be   only 

ed  by  that  univerfal  a'nd  durable  intereft,  the  happineL 

of  mankind, 

I  would  not  wifii-to  prohibit  the  .wife  man  or  phi" 
Jofopher  from  treating  any  fubjeft  proper  to  direft  our 
judgment  ;  for  there  are  abufes  and  prejudices  every 
where,  which  we  cannot  deftroy  without  making  c 
flep  towards  reafon  and  truth.  But  as  there  is  a  phi- 
lofophy  for  ihe  thoughts,  there  is  one  alfo  for  the  ac- 
tions. I  indeed  wiftt  that  men  of  a  enlarged  turn  of 
xnind,  who  perceive,  at  a  gUnce.  the  moral  order  of 
things,  would  attack  with  more  caution  and  modera- 
tion, and  afe  a  proper  feafon,  that  which  directly  relates 
to  the  opinions  moll  ellential  to  our  liappinefs  ;  and 
that  a  refpect  for  thefe  opinions  fijqald  be  manifefi, 
even  when  they  cenfure  fanaticifm  and  fuper'Htion. 

Such  a  wifh  is  far  from  being  realized  ;  arid  I  can- 
wot  help  lamenting,  when  I  confider  the  diefi'gn  of  tha 
greater  part,  who  have  written  for  fome  time  part  on 
religious  fubjefts.  Some  feek  artfully  to  deftroy,  or, 
at  leaR,  relax  the  band  which  unites  men  to  the  idea 
ef  a  Supreme  Being  :  and  others,  fliut  up  in  fome 
myftic  idea,  as  in  a  dark  den,  blindly  level  their  anathe- 
mas againft  every  kind  of  doubt  and  uncertainty  ;  and 
confound,  in  their  rigorous  cenfures3  the  acceflary 
ideas  with  the  principal  opinions. 

However,  in  taking  a  courfe  fo  oppofite,  they  un- 
fortunately have  an  equal  imerell  in  ranking  theeffen- 
tial  principles  of  religion  with  the  mod  infignificant 
fymbols  :  but,  influenced  by  very  different  motives, 
the  former  a£t  with  a  view  of  making  religious  zeal 
ferve  to  defend  every  part  of  the  worfhip,  of  which 
they  are  theminifters  ;  the  latter,  guided  by  a  motive 
of  felf-love  readily  admit  confufion,  that  they  may 
have  an  opportunity  of  undermining  religion,  whea 
they  attack  its  out-works, 

\Ve  have  need,  more  than  ever,  to  be  directed  to 
religion  by  wife  and  moderate  difcourfes,  by  a  happy 
mixture  of  reafon  and  fenfibility,  the  true  character- 
iitic  of  evengelical  morality.  It  is  only  by  thefc 
aieans  that  the  authority  of  falutary  truths  can  be 

ilrtngthene^V 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  <>o9 

lengthened.  We  are  eahly  hurried  beyond  the  juft 
line,  when  the  human  mind  is  not  in  a  {fate  to  mark 
any  limits  :  but  the  daily  progrefs  of  knowledge 
obliges  us  to  ufe  more  exaftnefs  :  it  is  ncceffary  then 
to  reign  in  the  imagination,  and  to  al'ow  reafon  to 
take  place  of  it  :  yet  it  is  {till  allowed  us  to  animate 
reafon,  and  even  ufeful  to  do  fo  :  but  we  muft  abfo- 
iutely' avoid  difguifing  it.  Falfe  notions  only  have 
need  of  the  affiftance  of  exaggeration.  It  feerns  that 
fome  are  very  fond  of  extremes,  that  common  fenfe 
may  not  inveftigate  them. 

I  will  make  another  obfervatiom  Thofe  who,  to 
free  us  from  fuperftition,  endeavour  to  relax  religious 
reftriclions — and  thofe  who,  to  ftrengthen  them,  have 
recourfe  to  intolerance — equally  mi fs  -their  aim.  The 
hatred,  fo  naturally  excited  by  every  kind  of  violence 
and  conftraint,  in  matters  of  opinion,  creates  a  repug- 
nance of  thofe  perfons  to  re\igion,  who  are  infenfibly 
led  to  confider  this  excellent  fyllem  as  the  motive  or 
excufe  for  a  blind  fpirit  of  perfecution.  And  the  di- 
reft  attacks  againft  religious  opinions  engage  well  dif- 
pofed  minds  to  adhere  more  Itrenuoufly  to  every  cuf- 
tom  which  appears  a  form  of  refpeQ  or  adoration  :  as 
we  redouble  our  zeal  for  a  friend  in  the  midit  of  thofe 
who  neglect  or  flrght  him. 

Let  us  unite,  and  it  is  certainly  time,  to  render  to 
the  Supreme  Being  fincere  worfhip  :  and  let  that 
worfhip  always  be  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  our  Cre- 
ator, Let  us  banifh  feverity  and  fuperttition  ;  but 
let  us  equally  dread  that  culpable  indifference,  the 
caufe  of  fo  many  misfortunes  ;  and  when  we  ihali 
have  ftrengthened  the  influence  of  found  reafon,  lee 
us  adhere  more  ciofely  to  ;he  ufeful  opinions  which 
have  been  reftried  from  errors,  and  with  all  our  force 
repulie  thofe  who  wifli  to  hurry  our  hopes  to  free  our- 
felves  from  the  wanderings  of  the  imagination.  Yes, 
a  religion,  difengaged  from  the  paffions  of  men,  in  its 
native  beamy,  ought  to  dwell  with  us.  Public  order 
and  private  huppinefs  equally  claim  it  :  and  aii  our- 
reflexions  lead  us  to  elevate  our  hearts  towards  an  Om- 
nipotent Being,  of  whofe  exigence  a!!  nature  reminds- 
as.  Religion,  well  underibod,  far  from  being  the 
S  &  neceffarj 


2io          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

neceflary  principle  of  rigofcror  violence,  Aould  be  t!i* 
foundation  of  every  focial  virtue,  and  of  every  rmid 
and  indulgent  fentimenr.  We  are  not  called  to  ty* 
rannizc  over  the  opinions  of  others,  or  to  give  defpotic 
Jaws  to  the  mind.  We  mud  obferve,  that  a  moderate 
and  rational  religion  only  will  guide  us  to  the  path  of 
happinefs  and  virtue,  by  addreifing  equally  our  hearts 


and  minds. 


C  H.AP-T.E  R     XVII. 


Reflexions  on  the  Morality  of  the  Chrijlian 
Religion. 


I  WILL  venture  a  few  reflexions  on  a  fubjecl: 
has  often  been  treated  ;  the  courfe  of  my.  fubjetfc 
naturally  leads  to  it.  Bat  in  order  to  avoid,  as  much 
as  poffible,  what  is  generally  known,  I  (hall  confine 
myfelf  to  confider  the  rnora  ity  of  the  gofpel,  under  a 
point  of  view  which  feetns  to  me  to  dUUngui&  its.fub* 
lime  inilruttions. 

Th--  mo(l  diftinft  charafterifticof  chriftianity,  is  tha 
fpirit  of  charity  and  forbearance  which  pervades  all  its 
precepts.  The  ancients  undoubtedly  refpecled  the 
beneficent  virtues  :  but  the  precept  which  commends 
the  poor  and  the  weak,  to  the  protection  of  the  opu- 
lent, belongs  eflentially  to  our  religion.  With  what 
care,  with  what  love,  the  -Chriftian  legiflator  returns 
continually  to  the  fame  fentiment  and  intereft  1  Ths 
tendered  pity  lent  to  his  words  a  perfuafive  untlion  ; 
but  I  admire,  above  all,  the  awful  le(Ton  he  has  given, 
in  explaining  the  clofe  union  eftablifhed  between  our 
fentiments  towards  the  Suprenrie  Being  and  our  da* 
ties  towards  men.  Thus,  after  having  termed  the 
love  of  God,  t:  thtjirfi  commandment  of  the,  law," 
the  evangeliit  udds  :  "  and  thtjtcond,  which  is  Like 
unto  it>  is  to  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyfdf"  The 

fccondj  . 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS* 

second,  which  is  like  unto  ft  !  What  fimpHcity,  whaC 
'«ctent  in  that  expreftion  !  Can  any  thing  be  more  in- 
tereiting  and  fublime,  than  to  oiFer  conunually  to  ouy 
mind  the  idea  of  a  God  taking  on  himlelf  the  grati- 
tude of  the  unfortunate  ?  Where  find  any  principle 
of  morality,  of  which  the  influence  can  ever  equal 
fuch  a  grand  thought  ?  The  poor,  the  miferable, 
however  abjeft  their  ftate,  appear  furrounded  with  the 
fymbol  of  glory,  when  the  love  of  humanity  becomes 
an  expredion  of  the  (entiments  which  elevate  us  to 
God  ;  and  the  mind  ceafes  to  be  loft  in  the  immen- 
fity  of  his  perfections,  when  we  hope  to  maintain  an 
habitual  intercourse  with  the  Supreme  Being,  by  the 
fervices  which  we  render  to  men.  It  is  thus  that  a 
(ingle  thought  fpreads  a  new  light  on  our  duty,  and 
gives  to  raetaphyiical  ideas  a  fubiiance  conformable  t» 
our  organs. 

Juftice,  refpeft  for  the  laws,  and  duty  to  ourfelves^ 
may  be  united,  in  fome  manner,  to  human  wifdom  ;— - 
goodnefs  alone,  among  all  the  virtues,  prefents  anoth- 
er character  ;  there  is  in  its  offence,  fomething  vague 
and  indeterminate,  which  claims  our  rcfpecl.  it  feems 
lo  have  a  relation  with  that  intention,  that  fird  idea 
which  we  miift  attribute  to  the  Creator  of  the  world,  , 
when  we  wifh  »o- difcover  the  caufe  of  its  exiilence.— ~ 
Goodnefs,  then,  is  the  virfue,  or,  to  exprefs  myfelf 
with  more  propriety,  the  primitive  beauty,  shat  which 
has  preceded  time.  Thus,  the  prefling  exhortations 
io  benevolence  and  charity,  which  we  rind  running 
through  the  gofpei,  mould  elevate  our  thoughts,  and 
penetrate  us  with  profound  refpeft.  It  recals  us,  it 
unites  us,  to  a  fenti;nent  more  ancient  than  the  world 
•—to  a  fentiment,  by  wh;ch  we  have  received  exift- 
ence,  and  .the  hopes  which  comppfe.our  prefent  happi-  - 
nefs.* 

But  if,  from  thefe  elevated  confemplaiions,  we,  for 
a, momeni,  deicend  to  the  political  principles  which 

have 

*  I  think  I  perceive  the  traces  of  thefc  philofophical  ideaa 
in  the  cenfure  |ifus  palled  uooa  one  of  his  difciplcs  who 
cville.d  him,  «'  good  mafter.  Why  calltil  tiiou  ine  good  ?— »- 
Ibere  is  none  good  but  one," 


OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

have  the  greatetf  extent,  we  fhall  find  there  the  infill* 
ence  of  a  truth  on  which  I  have  already  had  occalion 
to  dwell;  but  I  {hall  now  treat  it  in  a  different  man- 
ner. The  unequal  diviGon  of  property  has  introduced 
among  men  an  authority  very  like  that  of  a  matter  over 
his  flaves.  We  may  even  juftly  fay,  that  in  many 
refpeftt  the  empire  of  the  rich  is  ft'll  more  independ- 
ent ;  for  they  are  not  bound  conftantly  toproteft  thofe 
from  whom  they  require  fervices.  The  tafte  and 
caprice  of  thefe  favourites  of  fortune  fix  the  terms  of 
their  convention  with  men,  whofe  only  patrimony  is 
their  time  and  ftrength  :  and  as  (oon  as  this  conven- 
tion is  interrupted,  the  poor  man,  absolutely  feparated 
from  the  rich,  remains  again  abandoned  to  accidents  5 
he  is  obliged  then  to  offer  his  labours  wiih  precipita- 
tion to  other  difpenfers  of  fubfiftence  ;  and  thus  he 
may  experience,  feveral  times  in  the  year,  all  the  in- 
quietudes that  mud  necefiarily  arife  from  uncertain 
refources.  Undoubtedly  in  giving  the  fupport  of  the 
Jaws  to  a  fimilar  conftitution,  it  has  been  reafonably 
fuppofed,  that  in  the  midfr.  of  the  multiplied  relation* 
offocial  life,  there  would  be  a  kind  of  balance  and 
equality  between  the  wants,  which  oblige  the  poor  to 
folicit  wages,  and  the  defires  of  the  rich,  which  en- 
gage them  to  accept  their  fervices.  But  this  emulibri- 
um,  fo  eflentially  neceffary,  can  never  be  eilablim* 
cd  in  an  exa£  and  conftant  manner  ;  fince  it  is  the 
refult  of  a  blind  concourfe  of  combinations,  and  the 
uncertain  effect  of  an  infinite  multitude  of  move- 
ments, not  one  of  which  is  fubjecl  to  a  pofitive  di- 
reftion.  However,  fince  to  maintain  the  di(tin6iion 
of  property,  they  were  obliged  to  leave  to  chance  the 
fate  of  the  greater  number  of  men,  it  was  indifpenfa- 
bly  neceiTary  to  find  feme  falutary  opinion,  proper  to 
temper  the  abufes  infeparable  from  the  free  exercife  of 
the  rights  of  property  :  and  that  happy  and  rettoring 
idea  could  only  have  been  difcerncd  in  an  obligation 
©f  benevolence  impofed  on  the  will,  and  a  fpirit  of 
general  chanty  recommended  to  all  men.  Thefe  lent- 
iments  and  duties,  the  lall  refource  offered  to  t!ie  un- 
fortunate, can  alone  mitigate  a  fyftem,  in  which  the 
fate  of  the  moil  numerous  part  of  a  nation  refts  on  the 

doubiful 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  ii$* 

doubtful  agreement  of  the  conveniences  of  the  rich 
with  the  wants  of  the  poor.  Yes,  without  the  aic^ 
without  the  intervention  of  the  moft  ettimable  of  vir- 
tues, the  generality  would  have  juft  reafon  to  regret 
the  focial  inftitutions,  which,  at  the  price  of  their  in- 
dependence, left  to  the  matter  the  care  of  their  fubfift- 
cnce  :  and  it  is  thus,  that  chanty,  refpeftable  under  fo 
many  tfifferertf  views,  becomes  ftiil  an  intelligent  and 
political  idea,  which  ferves  to  blend  perkmal  liberty 
and  the  imperious  laws  of  property. 

I  know  not- if  ever  the  chrHHan  precepts  have  been 
confidered  under  this  point  of  view.  But  reflecting  a 
little  on  this  fubjetl,  we  perceive  more  than  ever  of 
what  importance  the  falutary  inftitutions  are,  which 
place  in  the  firft  rank  of  our  duties  the  beneficent  fpir* 
it  of  charity,  and  which  lend  to  the  moft  eflVntial  vir- 
tue  all  the  force  and  constancy  which  religion  gives 
birth  to.  Thus,  at  the  fame  time  that  the  doclrinesof 
the  gofpel -elevate  UUP  thoughts,  it?  (ubiime  morality 
accompanies,  in  fome  meafure,  our  laws  and  inftitutions-, 
to  fuftain  thofe  which  are  really  conformable  to  reafon, 
and  to  remedy  the  inconveniences  infeparable  from  the 
im  perfections  of  human  wifdom. 

It  is  not,  however,  only  to  pecuniary  facrifices,  that' 
the  gofpel  applies  its  precepts  refpechng  charity.  It 
exteads  to  thole  generous  afts  of  iclf-denial,  that  relig- 
ion alone  can  render  fupportable  ;  and  makes  fome  de- 
fcend,  with  a  firm  (tep,  into  the  dreary  abodes,  in 
which  the  culprit  is  a  prey  to  the  remcrfe  that  tears  his 
heart  ;  and  wherv  his  very  relations  have  abandoned 
him,  he  ftill  beholds  a  comforter,  whom  religion  con- 
du&s  to  pour.conlolation  into  his  affl  cted  foul.  The 
fame  motives  and  thoughts  induce:  fome  to  renounce 
the  world  and  its  hopes,  »o  conCecraie  •themfelves  en- 
tirely to  the  fervice  of  the  lick,  and  to  fuifii  thofe  fad 
functions  v/ith  an  affiduity  and  a  conftancy.  that  the 
mod  fplendid  reward  could  never  excite.  O  rare  and 
difinterefted  virtue,  perfection  of  piety  !  what  a  tri- 
bute of  ad-mration  is  due  to  the  fublime  fentiment 
which  inipires  fuch  painful  felf-denia)  !  Men  are  on- 
ly ftimulated  by  notions  of  right  and  jullice  ;  it  bs» 
Sipngs^o  CJbrifiianity  to  impofe  duties,  whofe  bafe  ^ 

placed , 


$14         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

placed  beyond  the  narrow  circle  of  our  terrefhfal  in- 
terefts.  I  know  not,  but  it  feems  to  me,  that  not- 
withftanding  a  diverfuy  of  opinions,  we  cannot  help 
being  affected,  when  v/e  contemplate  the  (ketch  of  the 
laft  day  which  the  gofpel  delineates.  •  It  exhibits  a 
terrific  and  fublime  pifture  of  that  day,  in  which  all 
actions  are  to  be  revealed,  and  the  moft  fecret  thoughts 
have  the  univerfe  for  a  witnefs,  and  God  as  a  judge  : 
and  at  the  moment  when  we  wait  to  fee  the  retinue 
of  virtues  and  vices  which  have  rendered  men  cele- 
brated, it  is  a  fingle  quality,  a  virtue  without  fplen- 
dor,  which  is  choien  bj>  the  Divine  Arbiter  of  our 
fate,  to  derive  an  immortality  of  happinefs  from  :  and 
he  pronounces  ihefe  memorable  words,  which  con- 
tain in  a  {mail  compafs  our  whole  duty  :  "Iwas  hun<* 
gry,  and  ye  gave  me  meat  \  thrifty,  and  ye  gave 
me  drink.  I  was  a  prifcner,  and  ye  vijited  me. 
Come,  ye  bleffcd  of  rny  father,  inherit  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you,"  £3c,  Men  love  to  contemplate 
the  triumphs  of  goodnefs — love  to  exalt  it  under  dif- 
ferent forms.  We  have  fo  many  wants,  are  fo  weak, 
and  are  able  to  do  fo  little  for  ourfelves,  that  this  in- 
terefting  virtue  appears  our  fafe-guard,  and  the  myfte- 
rious  tie  ofall  nature. 

The  fpirit  of  chanty,  fo  effantial  in  its  exaft  inter- 
pretation, may  be  applied  to  the  regard  and  delicats 
attention  that  different  degrees  of  talents  render  necef- 
fary.  Society,  under  this  relation,  has  alfo  its  rich  and 
poor  :  and  we  know  the  extent  of  charity  and  the  fe- 
crets  of  our  moral  nature,  when  we  praftife  that  gene- 
ral benevolence,  which  preferves  others  from  feeling  a 
painful  fentiment  of  inferiority,  and  which  makes  it 
a  duty  to  refpe&  the  veil,  that  a  beneficent  hand  has 
defignedly  placed  between  the  light  of  truth  and  thofe 
imperfections  which  we  cannot  entirely  correct. 

Jt  is  always  about  the  generality  of  men  that  the 
author  of  Chriftianity  feems  to  be  interefled.  The 
gofpel  takes  cognizance  of  their  private  fentiments, 
condemning  pride,  and  recommending  modefty  :  and 
at  applies  ufelf  to  level  thofe  diftances  which  appear  to 
as  io  important,  when  we  only  view  the  little  points  of 
gradation  which  compofe  our  fcals  of  vanity.  Relig- 

101 


• 

RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  115 

ion  enables  us  to  difcern,that  haughtinefs  and  contempt 
only  difplay  our  ignorance  and  folly  :  **  What  hafc 
thou, that  thou  didji  not  receive?  nozu,  if  thou  didft 
receive  it,  why  dojt  thou  glory  ? — What  is  the  pruJe, 
that  does  not  melt  away  before  thefe  awful  words  ? 
Religion  feems  ever  to  tend  towards  the  fame  end,  and 
by  continually  reminding  us  of  the  brevity  of  life,  to 
prevent  ftrong  illufions  from  engroffing  our  thoughts* 

The  greater  part  of  ancient  moral  iriftru£lions  were 
in  general  addrefled,  either  to  man,  confidered  as  an 
individual  occupied  with  the  care  of  his  deftiny,  or  to 
the  citizen,  connected  by  his  duties  to  his  country,; 
and  none  of  them  had  fufficient  extent.  Itisnecefla- 
ry,  when  giving  co.unfel  to  a  folitary  individual,  only 
to  try  to  free  him  from  thofe  paflions  which  would 
deftroy  his  repofe  and  happinefs :  and  the  obligations 
that  are  impofed  on  the  different  members  of  a  politi- 
cal ftate,  neceffanly  participate  of  a  jealous  ipirit, 
which  the  will  of  the  government  may  turn  into  ha- 
tred. The  Chriftian  religion,  more  univerfal  in  its 
views,  turns  its  attention  from  the  contrariety  of  in- 
tereils,  which  divide  irvjn  when  they  belong  to  differ- 
ent governments.  It  confiders  us  indiflinclly  as  citi- 
zens of  a  great  fociety,  -united  by  the  fame  or/gin,  na- 
ture, and  dependencies,  and  by  the  fame  feritiment  of 
happinefs.  Recommending  the  reciprocal  duties  of 
benevolence,  the  gofpel  does  not  make  any  difference 
between  the  inhabitant  of  Jerufalem  and  bamaria.  It 
takes  man  in  the  moft  fimple  and  the  mcfl  honourable 
of  his  relations,  thofe  which  arife  from  his  intercourfe 
with  the  Supreme  Being  :  and  under  this  point  of 
view,  all  the  hoftile  divifions  of  kingdom  againft  king- 
dorn,  abfolutely  d;iappear.  It  is  the  whole  human 
.race,  which  has  a  right  to  the  protection  and  the  bene- 
ficence of  the  Author  of  nature,  and  it  is  in  the  name 
of  every  intelligent  being,  that  we  credit  the  alliance 
which  unites  heaven  to  earth. 

The  rich  and  powerfuJ  made  the  firit  laws,  or,  at 
leaft,  directed  the  ipirit  of  them.  It  was  efpecially  to 
defend  their  poUV-ilions  and  privileges,  that  they  ex- 
tolled juftice.  The  legiflator  of  our  religion,  fpeaking 
of  this  virtue,  has  fhown,  that  the  intereils  of  all 

were 


•*i6        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE   OF 


equally  prefent  to  his  thoughts.  We  might  eve» 
fay,  that  he  made  an  old  obligation  anew  duty.  by  the 
manner  in  which  he  prefcribed  it.  "  Whatjotvtr  ye 
would,  that  men  Jliould  do  to  you^  do  you  even  fo 
to  them,"  is  a  maxim  ever  remarkable,  if  we  confidcr 
the  extent  of  the  precept  which  it  contains  :  there  arc 
fo  many  atls  of  feventy  and  oppreflion,  fomuch  tyran- 
ny, which  efcapes  the  reach  of  the  law,  and  the  fuper« 
intendency  of  opinion,  that  we  car.  not  too  highly  vai'ie 
its  importance.  Chriftianiiy  indeed  affords  a  fimple 
guide  and  meafure  for  ail  their  aftior.s. 

Religion,  befide,  in  order  to  fix  our  determinations, 
flrengthens  the  authority  of  conference.  She  faw  that 
every  one  of  us  has  within  himftlf  a  judge,  the  mod 
fevere  and  clear-fightcd.  and  that  it  is  fufficient  to  fub- 
mit  to  its  laws,  to  be  inttrucled  in  our  duty  ;  fot  it  is 
our  hidden  thoughts,  that  this  judge  examines:  and 
nothing  is  exc-ufed,  no  fubterfuge  admitted. 

It  is  not  the  fame  with  thofe  cerifures  which  we  ex- 
trcife  towards  others  :  the  fimple  aBions  only  firike  us  : 
and  the  different  motives  they  rejuit  from,  the  emo- 
tions, the  conflicts  which  accompany  them,  and  the  re- 
gret. the  repentance  which  follow  tbem3  all  thefe  elfen- 
tial  chara&eriftics  efcape  our  penetration.  Thus,  re- 
ligion, always  wife,  always  benevolent  in  its  ccunfels, 
forbids  our  forming  hafty  and  precipitate  judgments: 
and  we  cannot  read,  without  emotion,  that  lefTon  of 
indulgence,  fo  mildly  addreCed  to  the  crowd,  which 
furrou  nded  the  woman  taken  in  adultery.  "  ht  that  is 
without  Jin,  among  you,  let  him  c  aft  thefirjtjlonc 
at  her."  But  how  refift  being  affected  by  admiration, 
when  we  fee  religion  fo  warmly  employed  about  the 
fate  of  thofe  whom  the  iufpicions  of  falfe  accnfations 
of  men  have  dragged  before  their  tribunals  —  by  declar- 
•ir.g  that  it  is  better  to  let  a  hundred  culprits  efcape  pun- 
ilhment,  than  run  the  ri'fk  of  condemning  a  (ingle  per- 
fon  unj-uftly  ?  This  tender  anxiety  correfponds  with 
every  ientiment  of  our  hearts.  Innocence,  delivered 
to  infamy  —  innocence,  encompafled  with  all  the  horrors 
of  an  execution  —  is  the  moil  dreadful  fight  that  the 
imagination  can  prefent  :  and  we  are  fo  Oruck  by  it, 
<£±iai  we  fhould  be  almolt  difpofed  to  think,  that  be- 

fore 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  2:7 

fore  the  Supreme  Being,  the  whole  human  race  is  ref- 
ponfible  for  fuch  a  crime  ;  yes,  it  is  under  thy  protec- 
tion, O  my  God,  that  unknown  virtue  and  injured  in- 
nocence take  (heher.  Men  turn  lowar-ds  thee  for 
-comfort,  when  purfued  by  men  ;  and  it  is  not  in  vain 
that  they  truft  in  that  a\vful  day,  when  all  (hall  be 
judged  before  thee. 

I  wifh  only  to  dwell  on  the'particular  character  of 
the  Chriftian  religion,  as  it  proportions  the  merit  of 
our  aftions  not  to  the  grandeur  or  importance  of  them, 
but  to  the  relation  that  they  have  with  our  abilities; 
It  is  an  idea  abfoluteiy  new.  This  fyflem,  which  pre- 
fents  the  fame  motives  and  rewards  to  the  weak  and 
ilrong.  remarked  the  widow's  mite,  as  well  as  the  gen- 
erous facrifices  of  opulence.  This  fyftem,  as  jufl  as 
rational,  animates,  in  fome  meafure,  our  whole  moral 
nature  ;  and  feems  to  inform  us,  that  a  vail  circle  of 
good  aftions  and  focial  virtues  are  fubmitted  to  the 
lame  rules,  as  the  irnmenfe  domain  of  phyfical  nature, 
in  which  the  fimpleft  flower,  or  the  mod  irifignificant 
plant,  concurs  to  perfect  the  defigns  of  the  Supreme 
Being,  and  compoies  one  part  of  the  harmonious  uni- 
v^rfe. 

The  fuperintendance  of  the  Chriflian  religion  ex* 
tends  (till  further  than  I  can  point  out  ;  and,  guided  by 
a  ipirit  not  to  be  equalled,  it  eUimates  our  intentions, 
obfcure  difpofitions,  and  internal  determinations,  often 
feparated  from  aclion  by  different  obflacles.  1 1  directs 
men  in  fome  meafure.  from  their  firfl  fentiments  and 
defigns.  It  continuallyreminds  them  of  the  prelence 
of  God  ;  v/arns  them  to  watch  over  themfelves,  when 
their  inclinations  are  but  dawning,  before  they  have 
gained  ftrength,  In  ftiort,  at  an  early  hour,  it  forms 
the  mind  to  the  exercife  of  virtue,  by  difcriminating 
virtue  and  vice,  and  reminding  us  to  cultivate  a  love 
of  order  and  propriety,  before  th2  aclivc  fcenes  of  life 
force  thofe  fentiments  to  appear  confpicuoufly  difplay- 
ed  in  aftions. 

But  the  more  the  methods  of  meriting  the  divine 
approbation  arc  multiplied,  the  more  eiFentialis  it.  that 

A  c,  1-1 " 


siS          OF  THE  IMPORTANCE.  OF 

our  confidence  fliould  not  be  deprefled,  every  inftant, 
by  the  fentiment  which  arifes  from  the  experience  of 
our  errors,  It  is  necelfary,  that  at  the  moments,  too 
frequent,  when  the  chain  which  unites  us  to  the  Su- 
preme Being  would  efcape  from  our  grafp,  the  hope  of 
again  feizing  it  fhould  remain  with  us.  It  is  then  to 
fuccour  our  weak  faith,  that  we  fee  in  the  gofpel  that 
idea,  at  once  fo  excellent  and  new,  that  of  repentance 
and  the  promifes  which  are  annexed  to  it.  This  noble 
idea  abfolulely  belonging  to  chriftianity,  presents  our 
relation  with  the  Deity  from  being  deilroytd  as  foon 
;as  it  is  perceived.  The  culprit  may  ftill  hope  for  t|ie 
favour  of  God,  and  after  contrition  confide  in  him. 
Human  nature,  that  fingular  connexion  of  the  fpirit 
with  matter,  of  ftrength  with  weaknefs,  of  reafon  with 
the  imagination,  perfuafion  with  doubt,  and  will  with 
uncertainty,  necefiarily  requires  a  legiflation  appropri- 
ated to  a  conftitution  fo  extraordinary.  Man.  in  his 
moft  improved  ftate,  reiembles  an  infant,  who  attempts 
to  walk,  and  falls,  rifes,  and  falls  again  :  and  he  would 
foon  be  loft  to  morality,  if,  after  his  firft  fault,  he  had 
not  any  hope  of  repairing  it.  ;Under  a  fimiSar  point 
of  view,  the  idea  of  repentance  is  one  of  the  moft 
philofcphical  which  the  golpel  contains. 

The  prefiing  recommendation  to  do  good  in  fecref, 
.•without  eftiaiation,  is  the  refult  of  a  falutary  and  pro- 
found thought.  The  legiflafor  of  our  religion  un- 
doubtedly  had  perceived  that  the  praiies  of  men  were 
not  a  bads  fufficiently  fteady  to  ferve  for  the  fupport 
of  morality  :  and  he'difcerned,  that  vanity,  allowe.d 
to  enjoy  this  kind  of  triumphs,  was  top  diflipated  to 
be  a  faithful  guide.  But  the  moft  ^important  part 
of  that  precept  is,  that  morality  wound  be  very  cir- 
cumfcribed,  if  men  only  adhered  to  thofe  jufr  aftions 
which  all  the  world  might  fee.  There  are  not  many 
opportunities  to  do  good  in  public  ;  and  the  whole  of 
life  may  be  filled  by  unfeen  virtues  :  in  (hort,  from 
.that  continual  relation  with  our  confc«ence,  a  re- 
lation inftituted  by  religion,  there  refults  an  inefiima- 
ble  benefit  ;  for  it  is  cafy  to  perceive,  that  if  we  have 

within 


RELIGIOUS  OPINION'S.  219 

us  a  clear-fighted  and  fevcre  judge,  this  fame 
judge  turns  confcler  and  friend  everj  time  that  we  arc 
unjuftiy  condemned,  or  when  events  do  not  anfwer  ac- 
cording to  the  purity  of  our  intentions  ;  and  we  believe 
then,  that  we  have  almoft  two  fouls,  one  'aiding  and 
fuftaining  the  other"  on  every  occafion,  in  which  virtue 
anites  them. 

The  fcvere  cenfure  of  fuperftition  which  we  find 
throughout  the  gofpel,  is  derived  from  an  idea  as  rea- 
fonab'e  as  enlightened.  Men  are  too  much  difpofed 
to  make  their  religion  confid  of  little  exterior  practices, 
always  eafier  than  the  confl'tls  with  and  triumphs  over 
the  paflions.  Our  minds  fcize  with  avidity  every  ex- 
traordinary idea  :  when  they  are  in  part  of  our  own 
creating,  they  aid  our  felf-love  10  fuhjugate  our  ima- 
gination. Man  is  not,  at  the  age  of  maturity,  terrified 
by  thofe  phantoms, "  which  annoy  his  infancy:  but 
myfteries,  occult  caufes,  extraordinary  appearances, 
continue  to  make  an  impreffion  on  his  mind  ;  and, 
like  the  wonders  of  nature^  form  too  large  a  circle 
round  his  thoughts.  It  is  by  ideas  more  proportioned 
to  his  ilrength,  by  mere  fuperftiiion,  that  he  permits 
himfelf  often  to  be  lead  captive.  We  love  trivial  com- 
mands, obfervances,  and  fcrup'es  ;  becatile  we  are 
little  ourfelves,  and  that  in  OUF  weaknefs  we  would 
wifh  to  know  every  inilant  the  limits  of  our  obligations. 

Sometimes,  perfons  ternfted  by  their  imaginations, 
•r  by  the  confufed  pitlure  which  they  form  of  the  du- 
ties of  religion,  attach  themfelves  to  fuperftitious  prac- 
tices, as  a  fafe-gua'rd  near  at  hand,  which  may  quickly 
guard  them  from  the  different  anxieties  of  their  minds. 
The  precepts  of  the  gofpel  are  defigned  to  deliroy  thefe 
difpofitions  ;  fort)n  one  fide,  they  facilitate  the  lludy 
of  morality,  by  reducing  to  fimple  principles  the  en- 
tire fyftem  of  our  duties  ;  and,  on  the  other,  they  feek 
tu  render  our  intercourfe  with  the  Supreme  Being 
more  eafy,  by  teaching  us,  that  we  may  unite  ourfelves 
to  him  by  the  expanfion  of  a  pure  mind-— by  inform- 
ing us,  that  it  is  not  either  on  mount  Sion  or  Gerizem, 
*laat  we  are  to  ra^ife  an  at  tar  *,  but  that  every  honeft 

heart 


220         OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

heart  is  a  temple,  where  ?he  Eternal  is  adored  '«  in 
fpirit  and  in  truth.1'  The  chriftian  religion  is  the 
only  one,  which,  difcarding  ceremonies  and  fuperfti- 
tious  opinions,  leads  us  to  the  vvorfhijj  more  confonawt 
to  our  nature.  Chriftiarmy,  indeed,  in  that  grand 
thought,  has  pointed  out  the  di&ates  of  our  conscience 
as  mod  worthy  of  refpecl — benevolence  as  the  vvor- 
fliip  moft  agreeable  to  the  Supreme  Being — and  all 
our  moral  conduct  as  the  moft  certain  prognoftic  of 
our  future  ftate.  There  reigns  a  profound  philofophy 
in  the  doftrines,  of  the  gofpel  :  men  have  only  addecl 
a  vain  pageantry,  a  more  founding  tone. 

Let  us  render  homage  to  chriilianity,  for  that  fao 
red  tie  whiclr  it  has  formed,  in  uniting,  not  for  a  mo* 
roent,  but  for  (he  whole  of  life,  the  fate  of  two  beings, 
one  having  need  of  fupport,  and  the  oiher  of  comfort* 
It  is  religion  which  refines  this  alliance,  by  rendering 
it  immutable,  and  obliges  men  not  to  facrih'ce  to  the 
caprices  of  their  imaginations  the  unity  and  confi- 
dence which  fecure  the  repofe  of  families,  order  in 
the  difpofition  of  fortunes,  the  peaceable  education  of 
the  fucceeding  generation  :  and  which,  in  giving  to. 
children,  for  an  example,  an  union  formed  by  fidelity 
and  duty,  implants  in  their  hearts  the  feeds  of  the  moft 
important  virtues.  Religion  has  taught  us,  that  the 
friendfliips  of  a  world,  in  which  felfiflinefs  reigns, 
have  need  of  being  cemented  by  that  community  of 
interefts  and  honours  of  which  marriage  only  gives 
us  an  ide~a  :  holy  union,  alliance  without  equal,  which 
renders  ftiil  more  valuable  all  the  bieffings  of  life, 
which  feems  to  augment  our  hopes,  and  fortify  in  us 
the  comfortable  thoughts  and  mild  confidence  to  which 
pi^ty  gives  birth.  The  engagements  entered  into  be- 
tween men,  being,  for  the  moft  part,  founded  on  re- 
ciprocal fcrviccs,  a  time  might  come,  when  our  weak- 
nefs  would  be  i'o  great,  (others  having  no  more  inter- 
eft  to  affociate  with  us)  that  it  might  be  necefTxiry  to 
find  a  fupport  in  thot  friendfhip  which  time  has  matur- 
ed, and  of  which  a  fentiment  of  duty  repairs  the  breach- 
es, and  which  requires  a  kind  of  fanftity  from  th« 

baVt 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS,  fl3r 

iabit  and  the  remembrance  of  a  long  and  happy  union* 
Jt  is  religion  in  ftortj  which  has  ordained,  (hat  the 
delicate  virtue,  the  moft  excellent  ornament  of  a  weak 
and  timid  fex,  {bould  only  be  iubjeft  to  the  afcenden- 
cy  of  the  moft  generous  and  faithful  fentiment. 

Thefe  principles,  indeed,  are  not  formed  for 
corrupt  hearts.  But  the  fervice,  which  religion  ren- 
ders, the  end  which  it  propofes,  is  to  aflHt  us  fo  com- 
bat our  depraved  difpofitioris ;  it  is  to  point  out  the  er~ 
.rors  and  the  fnares  of  vice  ;  it  is  to  preferve  among  us 
the  facred  depofit  of  principles,  which  are  the  founda- 
tion of  public  order,  and  dill  maintain  fome  light,  to  il- 
luminate the  path  of  wifdom  and  true  happinefs. 

Religion  recals  us  continually  to  thofe  univerfal  du-, 
ties,  which  we  defcribe  under  the  name  of  good 
morals:  duties  that  men  would  often  inconfiderately 
wifh  to  feparate  from  public  intereft,  but  which,  how- 
ever, are  bound  to  it  by  fo  many  almoft  imperceptible 
and  fecret  ties.  Every  aft  of  wifdom  and  virtue  i$ 
not  of  immediate  importance  to  fociety.  But  morality 
mutt  be  cultivated  by  degrees,  and  fortified  by  habit  ; 
as  it  is  like  thofe  delicate  plants  which  we  rear  with 
a  kind  offondnefs  to  preferve  their  beauty.  If  we 
make  a  diUmclion  between  perfonal,  domeftic,  and 
public  manners,  in  order  to  negleft,  as  we  find  conven- 
lent,  one  part  of  our  duty,  we  {hall  lofe  the  charm  of  ir, 
and  every  day  virtue  will  appear  more  difficult. 

There  is,  L  think,  a  connexion,  more  or  lefs  appar- 
ent, between  every  thing  good  and  worthy  of  efteem  : 
and  it  feems  to  me,  that  this  idea  has  fomething  amia- 
ble, which  confufedly  fatisftesour  moil  generous  difpo- 
fitions  and  moft  co'm  for  table  hope:  and  if,  to  fuliain 
a  trith  fo  important.  I  were  permitted  to  interrogate 
the  young  man,  whole  virtues  and  talents  are  the  moft 
remarkable  in  6urop-,  I  mould  afk  him,  if  he  d>xi  not. 
experience,  that  his  filial,  tenderuefs,  the  regularity  of 
his  dontieitic  life,  the  purity  of  his  mourns,  and  ai-'  h-r- 
rare  private  qualities,  are  not  um;ed  to  tiie  uonic  lent- 
iments  whicn  make  hi  n  Appear  A-irii  (o  ;nuc  i  f.^c-.,tur, 
as  a  ftateiman ?  But  without,  dvyellinj  on  f.jca  iaji.ui- 
T  a  ces, 


1*2         OP  THE  IMPORTANCE  O* 

ces,  who  has  not  been  fometimes  flruck  with  the  beauty 
attached  to  that  fimplicity  and  modefty  of  manners  which 
we  often  find  in  an.obfcure  fituation  ?  We  then  mani- 
fcftly  difcover,  lhat  there  exifls  a  kind  of"  agreement 
and  dignity,  I  could  almoft  fay,  a  kind  .of  grandeur,  iiv 
dependent  of  refined  language  polifiied  manners,  and 
all  thofe  advantages  due  to  birth,  to  rank  and  fortune. 

I  have  only  glanced  over  the  benefits  arifing  from  the 
Chriftian  religion.  But  I  cannot  avoid  obferving, 
lhat  we  owe  to  it  a  confoling  idea,  that  of  the  felicity 
referved  for  innocent  babes  ;  interefting  and  precious 
hope  for  thofe  tender  mothers,  who  fee  flip  from  their 
embraces  the  objecls  of  their  love,  at  aaagc  when  they 
have  not  acquired  any  merit  before  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing, whom  they  cannot  have  any  relation  with,  but 
through  his  infinite goodnefs.  I  feel,  that  I  involumta* 
rily  mix  with  the  eulogiums  of  Chnftiamty  a  fentiment 
of  gratitude  for  the  mild  and  paternal  ideas  which  are 
diifeminated  v/iih  its  inlirutiions  ;  and  there  is  .fome- 
thing  remarkable  in  thofe  in(lru6Hons  that  rhey  are  con- 
tinually animated  by  every  thing  which  can  captivata 
cur  imagination,  and  aflociate  with  our  natural  inclina-, 
dons.  Senfibility,  happinefs,  and  hope,  are  the  fi.rou<r« 
eft  ties  of  a  heart  iliii  pure  ;  and  all  theemotions^  which, 
elevate  towards  the  idea  of  a  God,  exalt  in  our  mind.-i 
die  doclrine  of  morality,  which  recals  us  continually  to 
the  fublime  perfections  of  hi^n,  who  was  its  Authore 

In  fhori,  we  cannot  avoid  admiring  the  fpirit  of 
moderation,  which  forms  one  of  the  di(Un£k  characler- 
eRics  of  the  gofpe!  ;  we  do  not,  it  is  true,  always  find, 
die  fame  fpirit  in  the  interpreters  of  the  Chriftian  doc-, 
trines.  Several,  condrained  by  a  falfe  zeal,  and  more, 
difpofed  to  fpeak  in  the  name  of  a  threatening  mailer^, 
than  in  that  of  a  God,  full  of  wifdom  and  goodnefs, k 
have  frequently  exaggerated  and  multiplied  the  duties, 
of  men  :  and,  to  fupport  their  fyliem,  they  have  oftfi. 
obfcured  the  natural  ienfe,  or  the  general  import  of  the. 
precepts  contained  in  the  fqripturcs  ;  and  fometimes, 
alfo,  coile&ing  a  few  fcattered  v/crds,  they  have  form- 
ed  a  body  of. d ivinity, .  foreign,  .in  foverai  refpecls,  tq, 

the.. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  sag 

ike-  intention  of  the  apoftles  and  firft  Chriflians.  Ser* 
vants  always  go  further  than  their  matters  ;  and  as  the 
£ril  thought  does  not  belong  to  ihem,  they  only  aft  by- 
adding  fomething  heterogeneous:  the  fpirit  of  mode* 
ration  confifts,  bcfides,  in  a  kind  of  proportion,  which 
mere  imitators  have  only  an  imperfect  .  knowledge 
of:  fortitude  is  even  neceiiary  to  impofe  limits  on  vir- 
tue itleif •:  and,  t&  determine  the  ppeciie  and  exaft  meaf- 
ure  of  the  multiplied  duties  of  men,  requires  a  profound 
and  fublime  intelligence.  It  was  by  his  fublime  pre- 
cepts, that  the  inftitutor  of  an  univerial  morality  (how- 
cd  himfeif  fuperior  to  that  age  of  ignorance  in  which 
extremes  reigned  :'  when  piety  was  changed-imo  fu- 
peHtition,  juilice  into  rigour,  indulgence  into  weaknefs: 
and  when,  in  the  exaggeration  of  every  fentiment,  a 
kind  of  merit  was. iought  for,  incompatible  with  the 
immutable  laws  of  vvii'dom.  It  is  by  thofe  fublime  pre- 
cepts, in  fliort,  that  a  legiflator  rofe  above  tranfitory 
opinions,  to  command  all  times  and  ages,  and  that  he 
appears  to  have  been  defirous  to  adapt  his  inflruftionsj 
not  to  the  initantaneous  humour  of  a  people,  but  to  the 
nature  of  man. 

We  (hall,  befide,  find  eafily  in  the  gofpel  feveral 
characterises,  proper.  elTentially  to  diftinguifli  it  from 
philofophic  doclnnes  ;  but  in  an  examination  fo  fert- 
ous  and  important,  I  avoid  every  obfervation  which 
might  appear  to  the  greater  number  a  iimple  refearch 
of  the  undemanding  v  it.  is  the  grand  features  only 
which  belong  to  grand  things  ;  and  any  other  manner 
would  not  agree  with  a  fubject  fo  .worthy  of  our  re£? 
peQ,  •  I  mult  fay,  however,  that  when  1  am  left  alone 
to,  reflect  with  attention  on  the  different  parts  of  the  gof- 
pel, I  have  experienced,  that,  independent  o*'  general 
ideas  and  particular  precepts,  which  lead  us  every  m- 
flant  to  profound  admiration,  there  reigns,  belide,  in  the 
who  e  of  that. iubhme  morality,  a  fpiru  of  good- 
nefs,  of  truth,, and  wifdpm,  of  which  all  the  characters 
can  only  be  perceived  by  our  fenlibility.  by  that  fac'il- . 
ty  or  our  nature  which  does  not  feparate objects,  whiclv 
does  not  -wait  ;o  .define  j  but  whicli  penetrates,  as  by  a. 

kind 


124        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

kind  of  inftinft,  almoft  to  that  love,  the  origin  of  every 
thing,  and  that  indefinite  model  from  which  every 
generous  intention  and  grand  thought  bad  taken  its  fir$ 
form. 


C  H  AFTER    XVIII. 


Condufion. 


WHAT  a  time  have  I  chofen  to  entertain  the 
world  with  morality  and  religion  !  and  what 
a  theatre  is  this  for  fuchan  undertaking!  Only  to  con- 
ceive it,  is  a  great  proof  of  courage.  Every  one  is 
employed  about  his  harvell  '3  lives  in  his  affairs  ;  is 
loft  in  the  prefent  inflant ;  all  the  reft  appears  chime- 
rical. When  I  was  formerly  engroffed  by  cares  for 
the  public  welfare,  and  writing  on  my  favoritefubjeftj 
J  could  draw  the  attention  of  men  by  a  feries  of  reflex- 
ions on  their  own  fortunes  and  on  the  power  of  their 
country  ;  it  was  in  the  name  of  their  mofl  ardent  paf- 
fions  that  I  engaged  them  to  liflen  to  me.  But  iri 
treating  the  fubjeft  I  have  now  made  choice  of,  it  is 
their  natural  difpofitions,  now  almoil  effaced,  that  I 
muft  addrefs  :  thus  I  feel  the  necefluy  of  re-animating 
the  lentiments  which  I  wilh  to  direcl,  and  giving  birth 
to  the  interefl  I  defire  to  enlightem  And  when  1  fix 
my  attention  on  the  aftual  couife  of  opinions,  I  fear  to 
have  for  judges,  either  men  who  are  indifferent  to  the 
fubjeft,  or  who  are  too  levere  in  their  cenfures  ;  but 
the  reflexions  of  vanity  are  trivial  to  the  motives  which 
have  guided  me  :  and  provided  any  of  my  thoughts 
have  agreed  with  the  inclinations  ot  feeling  minds,  and 
added  fomething  to  their  happinefs,  I  ftail  enjoy 
the  f weateit  reward,  Such  a  wifh  I  formed,  when9 
with  a  weak  hand,  I  ventured  to  trace  fome  reflexions 
on  the  importance  of  religious  opinions, 

The. 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  225 

The  more  we  know  of  the  world,  its  phantoms,  and 
vain  enchantments,  the  more  do  we  feel  the  want  of  a 
grand  idea  to  elevate  the  foul  above  difcouraging 
events,  which  continually  occur.  When  we  run  af- 
ter honours,  fame,  and  gratitude,  we  find  every  where 
illufions  and  miftakes  :  and  it  is  our  lot  to  experience 
thofe  difappointments  which  proceed  from  the  infirmi- 
ties or  the  paffio-ns  of  men.  if  we- leave  our  ve-tfel  in 
the  harbour,  the  fjccefs  of  others  dazzles  and  diflurba 
us  ;  if  we  fpread  our  fails,  we  are  the  plaything  of  the 
winds  :  activity,  inaction,  ardour,  and  indifference,, 
all  have  their  cares  and  difficulties*  No  perfon  is 
fheltered  from  the  caprices  of  fortune  :  and  when  we 
have  reached  th»fiimmit  of  our  widies — when  we  have, 
by  chance,  attained  the  object  of  our  ambition,  fad- 
nefs  and  languor  are  preparing  to  frultrate  our  hope% 
and  diflipate  the  enchantment.  Nothing  is  perfect  ex- 
cept for  a  moment— nothing  is  durable  but  change. ~ 
It  is  neceffiry,  then,  to  have  an  intereft  with  thofe 
immutable  ideas  which  are  not  (he  work  of  man, 
which  do  not  depend  on  a  tranfient  opinion.  They 
are  offered  to  all.,  and  are  equally  ufeful  in  the  moment 
of  triumph  and  the  day  of -defeat.  .  They  are  as  we 
need  them,  our  confolation,  our  encouragement,  and 
our  guide..  .  What  Rrcngth,  what  fplendor,  thofe  ideas 
would  foon  have,  if,  coufidered  as  the  belt  fupport  of 
order  and  morality,  men  would  try  to  render  them  mors 
efficacious,  in  the  fame  manner  as.  we  fee  the  citizens 
of  a  political .  fociety  concur,  in  proportion,  to  their 
faculties,  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  State  !  Anew 
fcene  would  opeji  before  us  :  men  of  learning  far 
from  following  the  counfels  of  vanity  —  far  from 
fearching  to  deTtroy  the  moll  falutary  belief  of  men> 
would,  on  the  contrary,  allot  for  their  .defence  a  por- 
tion of  their  nobleft  powers.  We  fhould  fee  the  pene- 
trating metaphyfician  eager  to  refer  to  the  common, 
treafure  of  our  hopes,  the  light  which  he  perceives 
through  the  continuity  of  his  meditations,  and  the. 
perfptcacity  of  his  mind.  We  fhould  fee  the  atten- 
tive obferyer  of  nature  occupied  with  the  fame  idea,, 

animate^. 


«S-       OF  THE  IMPORTANCE     OF 

animated  by  the  fame  intereft  :  we  ihould  fee  him,  in 
the  midft  of  his  labours,  feize  with  avidity  every  thing 
which  could    add  any   fupport  to  the  firft  principle  ©f 
all  religions  :   we    fhould  fee   him.    detached  from   his 
difcovenes.  appropriate,    wiih  a  kind  of  love,  all  that 
tended  to   ilrengthen  the  happieft  perfuafion  and  mod 
fublime  thoughts.     The  profound  moralift,   the  phiio- 
fophic  legiflator,    would  concur  in  the  fame  defign  ; 
and  in  fuch  a  grand  enterprife,  men,  merely   endowed 
with  an  ardent  imagination,  would  be  like  thofe  wander- 
ers, who,  when  they  return  home,  taik  of  fome  unknown 
riches.    'There  are   ways  in  the  moral,   as  well  as  the 
phyfical  world,   which  lead  ro  unknown  ferrets  :   and 
the  harveft,  which  may  be  gathered  in  eke  vafl  empire  of 
nature,  is  as-exteniive  as  diverfified.     How  excellent 
would    be  the  union.of  ev-ery   mind  towards  this  mag- 
nificent end  I      In  this  view,  1  reprefent  fometimes  to 
myfelF,  with  refpecl,  a  (ociety  of  men  diftinguiflied  by 
thesr  character  and    genius,   only  employed   to  receive 
and  place   in  order  the    ideas  proper  to   augment  our 
confidence  in    the  moft   precious  opinion.     There  are 
thoughts  conceived  by  folitary  men,  which  are  loft  fo 
mankind  ;  becaufe  they  have    not  had    the  talent  to 
connect  a  fy item.     And  if  thofe  thoughts  were  to  be 
united  to  fome  other  knowledge — if  they  were  to  come 
like  a  grain  of  fand,  to  ftrengthen    the  banks  raifed  on 
our  fhore,  the  following  generations  would  tranfmit  a 
richer  hermitage.      We  fometimes  regifter  with  pomp 
a  new  word,    introduced    into  the  language  ;  and  men 
of  the  molt  exalted  genius  of  the    age  are  called  to  be 
prefentUt  that  ceremony  :    would  it  not  be  a  more  no- 
ble enterprife  to  examine,  to  choofe,  andconfecrate  the 
ideas  and  obfervations   proper  to  enlighten  us  in   our 
moil   eiTential  refearches  ?     One  of  thofe   refearches  - 
would  better  deferve  a  wreath,  than  any  work  of  elo- 
quence or  literature. 

Let  us  fuppofe,  for  a  moment,  that  in  the  moft  an- 
cient empire  of  the  world,  there  might  have  been 
priefls,  from  lime  immemorial,  who  guarded  the  de- 
ypfit  of  all  the  original  idtas  wti^h  ferved  to  fupport 

tke- 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  atf 

t^e  opinion  of  the  exiflence  of  a  God,  and  the  fenti- 
ment  of  the  immortality  of  the  foul  ;  and  that,  from 
time    to  time,    every  new  difcovery,  calculated   to  in- 
creafe  the  confidence  due  to  thefe  mod  neceflary  truths, 
was  infcribed  in  a  religious  teflamenr,  called  the  book 
of  happinefs  and  hope  :   how   highly  fhould  we   value 
it,  and   how  eagerly  defire  to  be   acquainted  with  it  ; 
and  with  what  refpeft  fhould  we  approach  the  ancient 
temple,  in  which  thofe  fuperb  archieves  were  depofit- 
ed.     But,    on  the  contrary,  could  we  imagine  another 
retreat,    where  the   fubtle  arguments  and  artificial  dif- 
courfes  were  collected,  by  which  fome  endeavour  to 
deftroy  or  (bake   thofe  holy  opinions,  which  unite  the 
univerfe  to  an  intelligent  thought,  to  a  fublime  wifdom 
— and    the    fate    of  men    to   infinite    goodnefs — who 
among  us  would  \vifli  to  enter  into  that  dark  abode  ? 
who  would  ivifh  to   explore  that  fatal    regiflry  ?    Let 
us  learn  to   know  our  nature  better,    and,  through  the 
.  delirium  of  our  blind  paffions,  di (cover  its  wants.      It 
is  a  God  we  feel  the  want  of,  a  God,  fuch  as  religion 
prefents  ;  .a  God,  powerful  and  good,    the  firft  fource 
of  happinefs,  and  v.'  ho  only  can  fecure  it  to  the  human 
.race.      Let  us  open    all  our   faculties  to   that  fplendid 
Jight,  thac  our  hearts  and  minds   may  welcome  it,  and 
•find  pleafure  in  widely  diffufing  it.   Let  us  be  penetrat- 
ed in  cur  youth,  by  the  only  idea  ever  neceflary  to  our 
peace.      Let  us  ilrengchen  it    when  in  our  full  vigour, 
that  it  mav  fupport  us  in  the  decline  of  life.      Ravifh- 
ing  beauties   of  the  univerfe,  what  would  ye  be  to  us, 
without  this  thought  ?      Majeftic  power  of  the  humaw 
mind,    aftonifhing    wonders    of  the  thinking   faculty, 
what  could  it  reprefent,  if  we  feparaled  it  from  its  no- 
ble origin  ?      Souls,  affectionate  and  impaflioned,  what 
would    become  of  you  withouf    hope  ?      Pardon,  O 
Matter  of  the  world,  if,  not  fufhciently  fenfible  of  my 
own  \veaknefs,  and   abandoning    myfeif  only    to   the 
emotions   of  my   heart,   I    have  undertaken  10  fpeak  to 
men  of  thy  exiftence,  thy  grandeur,- and  thy  goodnefs-! 
Pardon   me,     if,    lately     agitated     by     the    tumultu- 
ous waves  of  pailion,  JL  dare  to  raife  my   thoughts  to 

the 


*2&        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

the  realms  of  eternal  peace,  where  thou  more  partlcti*- 
larly  exhibited  thy  glory  and  fovereign  power.  Ah  I 
J  know  more  than  ever,  that  we  rnuft  love  thee,  we 
muft  ferve  thee. 

The  powerful  of  the  earth  exalt  and  deprefs  their 
favourites  capricionfly  ;  there  is  no  relying  on  them  : 
after  profiting  by  the  talents  devoted  to  them,  they 
forfake  <he  viclim,  or  crufh  him  like  a  reed.  There 
is  in  the  univcrfe  but  one  immutable  juflice,  but  one 
perfect  goodnefs  and  confolatory  thought  :  yet  we  go 
continually  towards  other  coafts,  where  we  call  for 
happinefs,  but  it  is  not  to  be  found:  there  are  phan- 
toms there,  accuftomed  to  deceive  men,  who  anfwer 
when  they  call.  We  run  towards  them,  and  purfue 
them,  and  we  leave  far  behind  religious  opinions, 
\vbicn  only  can  lead  us  back  to  nature,  and  elevate  us 
to  its  author.  The  blind  paflions  of  the  world,  and 
the  devouring  defi res  of  .fame  and  fortune,  only  ferve 
to  harden  us.  Every  .thing  is  felfHh  and  hollile  in 
them.  Ambitious  men,  who  only  wilh  for  a  vain 
name,-  a  chilJifh  triumph,,  acknowledge  your  features 
in  this  (ketch.  A  fingle  obje£l  engrofles  you  ;  a  fin- 
gle  end  fixes  your  views  :  the  heavens  may  be  obfcur- 
ed  ;  the  earth  covered  with  darknefs ;  and  the  future 
annihilated  before  you;  and  you  are  fatisfied  if  a 
weak  taper  ftiil -permit  you  to  difcern  the  homage  of 
thofe  who  furround  you.  But  how  is  it  poflible  to 
expect  thus  to  pafs-a  whole  life?  how  be  able  to  re- 
tain that  homage  which  appears  io  neceffary  to  your 
dream  of  happinefs  ?  how  can  you  make  ftationary 
what  fo  many  concur  to  demand  ?  We  have  a  more 
rational  certainty  of  happinefs,  when  a  fentiment  of 
piety,  enlightened  in  its  principle  and  action,  foftens 
ail  our  pafnoris,  and  bends  them,  in  fome  meafure,  to 
the  laws  of  our  deiliny.  Piety,  fuch  as  I  form  an  idea 
cf,  may  be  properly  rcprefented  as  a  vigilant  friend, 
render  and  rational.  It  lets  us  fee  the  various  bleflings 
of  life  ;  but  it  recals  us  to  the  idea  of  gratitude,  in 
order  to  augment  our  happinefs,  by  referring  it  to  the 
4T>oft  generous  of  all  benefaclors.  It  allows  us  to  ex- 

ercifc 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS.  "^29 

our  faculties  and  talents;  but  recals.  m  tr 
idea  of  morality  and  virtue,  in  order  to  a  flu  re  our  fiep?  f 
and  fhield  us  from  regret.  It  allows  us  to  m 
:ace  of  glory  or  ambition  ;  but  recais  us  t,o  the  idea  of 
inconstancy  and  inflability,  to  preferve  us  from  a  fatal 
intoxication.  It  is  always  with  us  not  -to  diflurb  cur 
felicity,  not  to  irapofe  ufclefs  privations,  but  to  blerd 
itfelf  with  our  thoughts,  and  to  unite  to  all  our  pro- 
jefts  thofe  mild  and  peaceable  ideas  which  attend  wii- 
dorn  and  moderation.  In  mort,  in  the  day  of  adverfi- 
ty,  when  our  ftrength  is  broken,  in  which  we  have 
placed  our  confidence,  piety  comes  to  fticcour  and  con- 
fofe  us  :  it  mows  us  the  nothingnefs  of  vanity  at.d 
worldly  illufions.  It  calms  the  remorfe  of  our  fouls, 
by  reminding  us  of  a  particular  providence.  It  foftenv 
our  regrets,  by  prefentingmorc  worthy  hopes  than  any 
earthly  objecl  can  afford,  in  order  to  engage  our  intercll 
and  fix  our  attention. 

I  am  not  led  to  thefe  reflexions  by  a  temporary  me- 
lancholy.    I  mould  be  afraid  of  it,  if  i  had  not  always 
had  the  fame   thoughts,  and  if  the  various   circumftan- 
ces  of  a  life,  often  perturbed,  had  not  led  me  to   • 
of  the  neceflity  of  attaching  myfelf  to  fome  principle, 
independent  of  men  and  events.  Almoft  entirely  . 
K  this  jnftant,  and  thrown  into  folitude  by  an  unfcrc  • 
feen  accident,  I  experience,  it  is  true,*  more  than  evf 
the  want  of  thofe  rational  ideas,    the  reprcfentatio;; ; 
of  all  that  is  great;  and  I  approach  with  renewed  in- 
tereft  the   truths    which  I    always  loved — grand  and 
fublime  truths,  which  I  have  recommended  to  men  a^ 
the  moment  when  I  fee  them  more  than  everinc!' 
to  neglea  them.     How  miftaken  are  they  in  their  cal- 
culations I   They  tru ft  to-day  in  the  ftrength  of  their 
minds   ;     to-raorrow  they  will    find  their    weaknefs* 
They    imagine,  that  in  turning  their    views  from   the 
termination  of  life,  they  remove    the    fatal  boundary  ; 
but  already  the  hand  trembles  on  the  dial,  to  giv. 
fignal  of  their  laft  moment.     What  a  dire  facrifk 
Should   make,    if    we  gave  up  ihofe  confoling  truth  , 
which  ftill  prefent  to  us  a  future,   when  ail  the  I 

ef 

*  For  I  had  begun  this  chapter  during  my  exile/ 


*3«        OF  THE  IMPORTANCE,  Ac. 

of  life  is  over !  We  fhould  again  demand  them,  fearslr 
for  them  with  the  moil  diligent  anxiety,  if  ever  the 
traces  of  them  were  unfortunately  effaced. 

All  thefe  ideas,  fome  may  fay,  are  vague,  and  do 
not  agree  with  the  humour  of  the  age  ;  but  at  a  certain 
diftance  from  the  field  of  ambition  and  vanity,  is  there 
any  thing  to  every  one  of  us,  more  vague  than  the 
pafiiors  of  others?  Are  men  employed  about  our  in- 
tereii  ?  Do  they  dream  of  our  happinefs  ?  No  ;  they 
•ire  like  ourfelves  ;  th«y  feek  for  precedency  ;  now 
and  then  indeed  they  pronounce  the  name  of  public 
good  ;  but  it  is  only  a  watch-word,  which  they  have 
:o!en,  to  be  abie  to  run  over  our  ranks  without  dan- 
ger. Where  fhall  we  find  then  a  real  tie  ?  Where 
ihall  we  find  an  univerfal  rendezvous,  if  not  in  thefe 
unalterable  ideas,  which  are  fo  confonant  to  our  na- 
ture— which  fhould  equally  intereft  us  all,  being  fuited 
fcoall  without  diilinftion— -and  which  are  ready  to  wel- 
come us,  when  we  fee  the  folly  of  earthly  purfuits  ? 
They  may  not,  indeed,  gratify  the  childiih  wifhes  of 
che  moment  :  but  they  relieve  our  anxiety  about  to- 
morrow ;  they  are  allied  to  objecls  of  meditation,  whioh 
belong  to  our  whole  life  ;  and,  above  all,  they  unite  us 
fo  that  fpirit  which  conftitutes  our  true  grandeur,  to 
that  fu  >nine  fpirit,  a  few  of  whofe  relations  only  a?e 
yet  difcovered  by  us,  and  the  full  extent  of  whofe 
power  and  goodnefs  can  be  but  faintly  guefled  at  by 
finite  beings. 


Sxiraftsfrdm  the  Mont  My  -Review,  vol.  78,  p. 

De  1'importancc  dcs  opinions  religieufes.     By  M.  NECKER. 


offering  here  made  at  themrine  of  religion, 
by  a  man  of  bufinefs,  a  man  of  true  political 
wifdom,  and  a  man  of  the  world,  in  the  city  of  Paris, 
is  a  curious  phenomenon.  It  isalfoa  noble  one  — 
and  gives  M,  Necker,  who  has  been  long  efteemed  for 
his  great  capacity,  literary  merit,  and  eminent  virtues,/! 
new  and  dijiinguified  title  to  the  veneration  of  the 
public*  It  has  been  this  virtuous  man's  dettiny  to  ar- 
rive at  eminence  in  every  line  that  he  has  purfued, 
from  the  counting-  houfc  to  the  threfhold  of  the  cabi- 
net. And  it  is  impofliblc,  if  we  read  the  work  before 
us  with  candour  and  attention,  not  to  fee  that  both  hit 
head  and  his  heart  make<j  dijlinguijked  and  a/eding 
appearance  in  the  caufe  of  religion. 

11  When  Cicero  was  exhaufted  with  bufinefs,  and 
diflrefled  by  malignant  oppofition,  in  the  zealous  la- 
bours for  the  good  of  his  country,  he  had  recourfc  to 
philofophy,  not  only  for  his  own  confolation,  but  as 
adapted  to  furnifh  him  with  means  of  being  ufeful  to 
his  fellow-citizens,  which  the  malice  of  his  enemies 
could  not  defeat.  Similar  to  that  of  the  illuftrious 
Roman,  is  the  cafe  of  M.  Necker,  with  this  advant- 
ageous difference,  that  the  latter  has  found  in  the  doc- 
trines, views  and  precepts  of  chrifHanity,  better  lights 
by  which  he  might  improve  his  philofophy,  than  the 
former  could  derive  from  the  ambiguous  tenets  and 
clouded  profpe&s  of  heathen  wifdom. 

"  M.  Necker  (hews,  with  great  fagacity  and  ftrength 
of  reafoning,  theinfufficiency  of  political  principles,  to 
anfwer  the  purpofes  they  arc  defigned  to  ferve.  Re-» 
ligion,  which  extends  its  influence  diftributively  to 
«ach  individual,  in  fources  of  confolation,  in  incentives 
to  hope,  in  motives  to  all  the  virtues  that  promote  or-. 
der,  and  yield  fatisfa&ion  in  every  fphere,  age,  and 
lituation,  tends  not  in  a  vague,  but  in  a  direft  and  ef- 
fectual manner,  to  the  advancement  of  public  and  pri- 
vate felicity.  This  moft  important  truth  is  prefented' 
by  M.  Necker  to  the  underftanding  and  to  the  heart  of 
bis  reader  in  various  points  of  v-iew,  \vhu;h  ^ive  us 


high  and  ptetjivg  ideas  of  his  own  intelteffs  and 
feelings. 

«'  Befides,  crimes  committed  in  fccret,  our  ingen* 
ious  and  refpeftabie  author  prefenfs  us  with  a  prodig- 
ious lift  of  errors  and  vices,  which  civil  laws  can  nei- 
ther define  nor  purfue — and  which  have  already  done 
unfpeakable  milchief  in  fociely,  e\efi  before  they  have 
become  the  obje:£h  of  public  cenfure.  The  details 
here  are  lingularly  ingemor*  ai-.d  folid,  and  fhew  a 
deep  and  extenfive  knowledge  of  human  nature  and 
human  life.  The  parallel,  moreover,  drawn  by  M» 
decker,  between  the  influence  of  religious  fentiments, 
and  that  of  laws  and  public  opinion,  is  interejling  in 
the  highejl  degree. 

*4  A  kind  of  enthufiafm  animates  the  author  in  ma- 
ny paflages  of  thefe  excellent  chapters — and  which, 
affociated  with  fober  and  folid  argument,  is  diffuletftin 
a  proper  meafure  through  the  whole  of  this  work  ;  but 
it  is  that  kind  of  cmhufiafni,  which  an  elevated  and 
enlightened  mind  mult  feel  in  the  contemplation  of 
what  is  great,  beautiful,  and  happy. 

"  Thofe  who  can  perufe  the  i8th  and  laft  chapter 
of  this  book  without  a  pleafing  emotion,  and  the  warm- 
eft  fentiments  of  efieein  for  the  Author,  will,  we  hope, 
be  few  in  number," 

Ex  trad  from  the  fame  work,  vol.  So,  page  370. 

"  We  rejoice  to  fee  this  excellent  work  naturalized 
here — and  it  ought  to  be  tranflated  into  every  £urt* 
pean  language/' 


SRlZc 


